A New Life at Hogwarts
by xxbabydragonxx
Summary: What was happening to Draco was wrong and now Danielle was being given a chance to make a difference. She was being given an opportunity to save someone's life. The war had started and Danielle couldn't, in good consciousness, stand by and let Draco Malfoy be the first casualty.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! First off, let me just say thank you for even giving my story a chance. I was really nervous to post this at first, but I really wanted to get feedback on my writing. This story is already written to completion, so there is no chance of me disappearing before the ending is up. I'm planning on adding a couple chapters everyday, unless anyone feels I should do differently. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you've found any sort of grammatical errors or misspellings. Also, don't be shy about letting me know what you think about the plot, the characters, or my writing in general. I welcome any constructive criticism you may have. Thanks again and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own any of J.K Rowling's ideas, plots, or characters. **

Chapter One

"Do you think we made the right choice?" Danielle asks her friend as the two of them look up at the train so famously called the Hogwarts Express.

"I hope you're joking," The smallish, dark haired girl looks over to her friend, "Hogwarts is supposed to be the best school of magic in the world. We were lucky to even be accepted! Albus Dumbledore is the headmaster! He's the most powerful wizard alive!"

Danielle still looks at the massive train with some hesitation. "Well, I hope it was worth traveling half way around the world for. There's been some weird stuff that's happened over here."

"It's a school of magic," Tracy laughs at her friend as they drag their luggage on to the train. "Of course weird stuff has happened." The two girls look for a place to sit and luckily find an empty compartment so that they both had window seats.

"What house do you reckon you'll be sorted into?" Danielle asks after she pulls out her gameboy. It was a muggle device but she didn't mind. Pokémon was addicting.

"I don't really care, honestly," Tracy admits as she gets comfy too. "I don't see the point in separating students anyway. We didn't do that at our old school and it seemed to work fine. But I guess Hogwarts does it to honor the original four founders of the school."

"Yeah, and as soon as we're sorted you know we'll inherit all the stereotypes that go with it," Danielle shakes her head at the device in her hands. "I swear I'm never going to beat Ash. It's really starting to get annoying. It's the stupid Lapras that gets me every time!"

Tracy lets out a laugh, "Well, as long as we're in the same house I'll be happy." The two are interrupted by someone clearing their throat in the doorway. They look over to see a tall boy standing there with a frown on his face. Danielle immediately gets a weird vibe from the guy with his expensive looking robes and dress clothes. They were just going to school for crying out loud. This guy was dressed for a business meeting or something… maybe a funeral.

"Excuse me ladies, I didn't mean to interrupt you," He says as his bright blue eyes scan their compartment and give each of the girls a once over.

"Did you need a place to sit? We have room in here," Tracy offers, "But you aren't getting my window seat."

"No thank you," The pale boy says. "I was just curious as to who you two are. I've never seen you before yet you look much too old to be first year students."

"We just moved over here from the U.S" Tracy explains with a shrug, "We're transferring in as sixth year students."

"The United States, really?" The boy pressed on with a look of interest, "that is fascinating. I'm a sixth year as well. What are your names? Perhaps I've heard of your families."

Danielle and Tracy exchange a nervous glance but Tracy answers the question, "I'm Tracy Ross." A smirk grows on the boy's face.

"I've heard of your family. Purebloods, am I right? Your brother does research for the American magical transportation bureau," he then leans over and offers his hand to Tracy. "I'm Draco Malfoy by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The boy then looks over at Danielle expectantly. He narrows his eyes at her when he sees that she is frowning at him. "Why did you ask if she was a pureblood?" Danielle asks accusingly, "You're not one of those people obsessed with blood statuses are you?"

"Danielle," Tracy looks to her friend in shock.

"What?" Danielle responds with a sigh, "I told you the people here were sketchy." Tracy looked mortified by her friend's behavior. Danielle was being pretty brazen right now.

"Her name is Danielle Emmings," Tracy tells the boy.

"Emmings? Yes, I've heard of you as well," Draco drawls looking a little put off. Danielle huffs when he doesn't offer to shake her hand. She was a pureblood like Tracy, but there had been some bad publicity about her family in the wizarding world lately. Her parents had recently divorced and it had been pretty messy. Because her family had been well known in the states there had been a lot of rumors printed and the story had been twisted. One of the reasons Danielle had come to Hogwarts was to get away from all of that.

"Don't judge me by anything you've heard ok?" Danielle tells Draco seriously, "You don't even know me." Draco curled his lip and looked Danielle over again, this time with a disgusted look on his face.

"Right," Draco says ignoring Danielle's comment, "Well, it was nice meeting you two ladies. Enjoy the rest of the ride and I'll be looking forward to seeing what houses you end up in." The boy gives Tracy a nod before turning and walking away.

"Ugh, did you see how he looked at me?" Danielle asks her friend. "I didn't think people over here would know our business."

"Well, you didn't have to get all up in arms with him as soon as he walked in," Tracy advises.

"The first thing he asked was if you were a pureblood," Danielle argues. "Why would he ask that at all if it didn't matter?"

"True, but not everyone will be like that here. Hogwarts has one of the highest populations of half-bloods and muggleborns in our word," Tracy explains. "Plus, that guy didn't have much room to talk. I've heard of the Malfoys. They are one of the oldest richest pureblood families around. They're rumored to be death eaters."

"You're kidding!" Danielle gasps in shock and horror, "Well… I guess that explains his attitude." Danielle sneers at the thought of anybody wanting to help some mad man commit genocide.

* * *

"Wow!" Danielle looks up as she is led into the great hall by a strict old woman named McGonagall. The room was gigantic with four long tables containing all the students. There was another table in the front where all the teachers sat. The ceiling mimicked the night sky that they had just seen while they were outside. It was dark and cloudy with a few stars shining through. There were also hundreds of candles floating around above them.

"Jeez! I didn't think it would be this huge!" Tracy says, admiring the scene as well.

"That's what she said," Danielle jokes and Tracy just shakes her head with a laugh.

After a few moments, an extremely old wizard with long flowing white hair and an equally long and white beard stood up in front of the room. The girls already knew this was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Everyone knew who he was. He was the one who had responded to the two girl's letters inquiring whether or not they would be able to transfer to Hogwarts that year.

"Let the sorting begin!" He announces with a small smile. Danielle couldn't help but smile too. She was feeling a lot better now that they'd arrived. This castle was beautiful and she was excited to spend a whole school year here. And being in the presence of Dumbledore was inspiring her. She'd thought he'd be intimidating but in reality, the old man seemed very warm and welcoming. McGonagall waved her wand and a wooden stool with a very old hat on top of it appeared in the front of the room. She called Danielle's name first since she wasn't really a first year and her name came before Tracy's alphabetically. Danielle walked over hesitantly and sat on the stool. She felt awkward having a couple hundred people staring quietly at her. McGonagall placed the hat on her head and it was so large that it slipped right over her and covered half her face. Danielle tried not to think about how gross the old smelly thing was.

"Ah! Refreshing!" The hat began to speak into her ear, "The mind of a 16 year old is a truly interesting thing." Danielle had known about the sorting hat before but it was slightly freakier than she'd pictured. She could feel the hat searching through her mind and she didn't like it. She hoped this would be over soon. "An American pureblood," The hat continues, "I sense great wit and intelligence from you as well. Yes, definitely RAVENCLAW!"

McGonagall removed that hat and pointed over to a table full of cheering students. Danielle headed over to the table and a few people moved over to make room for her. They were patting her on the back and congratulating her. Danielle just looked around to make sure the annoying guy from the train wasn't sitting at her table. She'd hate to have to live with someone like that. Tracy was called next and she walked up and sat on the stool. The hat slipped down so that all she could see was the black fabric from inside.

"Another American eh?" The hat states sounding intrigued.

"Just put me with Danielle, please" Tracy requests. She wasn't sure if she was allowed to converse with the object but she didn't want to be separated from her friend.

"You are a pristine pureblood," The hat hums, "you have an impeccable pedigree and would be a highly valued addition to Slytherin house." Danielle slammed her fist onto the table and stood up angrily.

"You're going to sort her based on her heritage alone?!" Danielle asks feeling outraged. Everyone in the great hall turns to look at Danielle with shock. Nobody had ever questioned the sorting hat before. The other people at the Ravenclaw table glared at their new addition. She was going to lose them house points and the year hadn't even begun yet. The teachers were exchanging looks up at the front of the room, wondering if they should step in or not. Dumbledore, on the other hand, still had that satisfied smile on his face and seemed to find the new girl's outburst amusing.

"Yes, Ms. Emmings, you are quite right," The hat suddenly breaks the silence. "Your friend is overwhelmingly creative and possesses great individuality. I can see that she belongs with you in Ravenclaw!" McGongall looks relieved to be done and lifts the hat off of Tracy's head so that she can go over and join Danielle with the other members of their new house. They ate their dinner before heading back to their new rooms to go to bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Welcome to advanced potions. As I've known all of you for five years now, I trust introductions aren't necessary," The tall dark professor announces once everyone settles into the first class of the school year. One of the other girls from Ravenclaw leaned over to tell Danielle and Tracy that the Professor's name was Snape. He was the head of Slytherin house.

"Today we will be making a potion that allows the drinker to temporarily see through solid objects," Snape says in monotone, "You'll find the list of ingredients as well as the steps in making the potion on page 53 in your textbooks. You'll also find that I've already assigned partners which are written on the board."

Everyone looked at the board behind Snape as a list of names appeared. "If you are disappointed by what you see, get used to it, because these will be your partners for the duration of this year."

"Blaise Zabini?" Tracy turns in her seat to see a stern looking, black Slytherin boy nod at her. He looked indifferent about her being his partner.

"He looks scary," Danielle whispers to her friend who laughs.

"Stop judging people," Tracy says but looks a bit intimidated by the boy as well.

"I'm not judging," Danielle shrugs. "It's just an observation."

"Guess I'll be finding out soon," Tracy sighs as she gathers her things and goes to sit next to her new partner. She was going to be stuck with this guy for a year so she hoped he would be cooperative. Tracy didn't want her grades suffering because of him.

"Lucky!" Some girl looks up at Danielle jealously, "You get Malfoy! He's so hott!" Danielle just stares at the girl in disbelief. Good thing she wasn't in Ravenclaw or Danielle would feel embarrassed. She decided not to even respond to the girls comment and picks up her things and moves to take a seat next to the blonde boy she'd met on the train the previous day. She hoped he would not be mean and just help her get the assignment done.

"Your friend doesn't look too thrilled to be partnered with Malfoy," Blaise cocks an eyebrow at Tracy after they'd set up their materials. "She must not know that he's top of our class in Potions."

"She sort of butted heads with him on the train yesterday," Tracy frowns at the memory. "He made some comment about our heritage and it set her off. She'll be fine though. It just takes Danielle a while to warm up to people sometimes." Tracy then holds her hand out to her partner to test the waters, "I'm Tracy Ross by the way."

"I'm Blaise Zabini," the boy smirks a little and takes her hand. Tracy smiles back. "So, what brought you to Hogwarts?"

"Danielle and I were getting bored with the people in America. We thought we'd spice it up a bit by studying abroad. Plus, having a diploma from Hogwarts is going to get me a lot further in whatever career path I choose than one from my little old school in the states." Tracy explains as she gets started on the potion. "I just wanted something new and challenging and hopefully better than what I had."

"You could have gone to Beauxbatons academy for that as well," Blaise suggests flatly.

"I thought about it," Tracy admits, "Danielle and I studied French back home so going to school in Southern France had its appeals. But, Beauxbatons is too preppy for us. We didn't care about wearing silk uniforms and taking lessons in etiquette and all that flashy stuff. We just wanted a good education and we figured we'd find that with Dumbledore at Hogwarts."

"News about our old headmaster must not have reached the states then," Blaise says casually as he mixes their potion. "Everyone over here's been thinking the man's gone a bit kooky in his old age."

"Oh, I don't think everyone thinks that!" Tracy shrugs, "Dumbledore's always been a bit eccentric."

"You know what he's been claiming about the dark wizard from the last wizarding war then?" Blaise questions and turns to look intently at the Ravenclaw.

"About you-know-who being back?" Tracy asks feeling uncomfortable with the topic, "Yes, his claims are alarming. Danielle and I almost didn't come out here because of that. I don't think Dumbledore's crazy for alerting the public of his concerns though. He wouldn't announce something like that unless there was some truth in it."

"So, you believe him?" Blaise asks and Tracy notices that the boy moved away from her a bit now.

"I believe that people deserve to know that there is a possibility of a threat so that they can take certain precautions to protect themselves," Tracy states firmly and Blaise seems to be satisfied with that answer.

Meanwhile, Danielle and Draco were having their own lovely discussion.

"It's all your fault that your friend wasn't sorted into my house you know," Draco frowns over at Danielle who was trying to read through the ingredients listed in her book. "You should have kept your mouth shut during the sorting yesterday."

"Sorry?" Danielle says already feeling annoyed. She didn't want to argue with this guy and get in trouble with the scary Snape.

"A well off pureblood like her should be in Slytherin," Draco says snatching Danielle's book out of her hands to look at it even though he had one of his own.

"How do you figure?" Danielle glares over at him. She held herself back from snatching the book back away from him.

"Well my father says that…"

"Your father?" Danielle asks as she grabs their stirring spoon and points it in her partner's face, "I asked for your opinion, not your father's. You can think for your self can't you?"

"Yes! Of course I can you low class filth!" Draco hisses as her pushing the spoon out of his face angrily.

"Geez…" Danielle frowns and turns away from her partner to work on the potion alone. She tried not to let it show that her feelings had just been hurt.

* * *

"So, what's Blaise like?" Danielle asks Tracy as they make their way into their Herbology class and sit down in one of the many greenhouses on Hogwarts grounds. They had this class with the Gryffindors.

"He doesn't seem that bad," Tracy shrugs. "He's sort of distant and closed off. I can't really tell what he's thinking. It's sort of creepy. How was Malfoy?"

"Draco? He was great! Great guy!" Danielle lets out a fake laugh before frowning, "I'm kidding, he's an ass!"

"Sounds like Malfoy's given you two a warm welcome" Danielle and Tracy look across the table at the red headed boy who'd obviously overheard their conversation. "Didn't mean to eavesdrop," He looks sort of embarrassed for speaking up. "I just thought you should know that you shouldn't take anything that Slytherin jerk says to heart."

"You two are the new American transfer students, aren't you?" a girl with brown curly hair sitting next to the redheaded boy noticed them now and turned to talk to them.

"Yeah, I'm Tracy and this is Danielle" Tracy smiles as she points to her friend.

"I'm Hermione," The girl introduces herself with a big grin. She looked happy to make friends with the two Ravenclaw girls. She then points to the red headed, freckle faced boy to her right, "and this is Ron." Hermione then points to a boy to her left with shaggy black hair and round eyeglasses, "This is Harry." This boy hadn't been paying attention and spun around quickly when he heard his name.

"Huh?" He asks and Danielle laughs at his confusion.

"We're introducing you to Danielle and Tracy, the two new Ravenclaws" Hermione frowns at him sternly.

"Oh!" The boy smiles sheepishly and holds out his hand, "I'm Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter?" Danielle can't help but show her shock as she and Tracy politely shake the boy's hand. Of course she'd heard of Harry Potter and the amazing story of how he'd survived the killing curse when he was only a year old.

"I forgot that you went to school here," Tracy admits as she looks at Harry curiously.

"Yeah," He smiles and holds up his bangs to show the famous lightning bolt scar on his forehead. "I'll just show you this now."

"That's it?" Danielle asks as she leans forward and squints her eyes. Tracy laughs at her friends awkward social skills.

"What did you think it would look like?" Ron asks looking amused.

"I don't know, like a bear mauled his face or something" Danielle says with a smile and Ron starts chuckling. Danielle waves her hand after a second though, "But yeah, all joking aside, meeting you is like an honor! It's cool to finally have a face to put to the name, you know?"

"Well, it's pretty awesome to meet you guys too!" Harry admits, "I've never met anyone from the United States before."

"We're nothing special," Tracy lets out a laugh.

"Well, you have a sweet accent," Ron offers with a shrug.

"I've always wondered," Hermione then pipes in looking excited. "Do they make you take OWL exams in America?" Ron and Harry rolled their eyes at their friend.

"What are OWL exams?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels," Hermione explains. "We had to take them last year to decide what advanced classes we'd be allowed to take this year. I was just wondering how they made up your guys' schedules."

"Oh, we had to send Dumbledore our transcripts with all our grades. We didn't have standardized advanced placement examinations at our school to get into higher classes," Tracy tells the Gryffindor girl. "That's one of the reasons we wanted to come to Hogwarts. Danielle and I weren't being challenged." Harry looked impressed by this and Ron looked disturbed by the mere thought of someone going through so much trouble to have harder classes. Hermione looked delighted to meet people who seemed to strive for excellence as much as she did.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Once Herbology was over, Danielle and Tracy parted ways with the three Gryffindors and headed back up to the Ravenclaw common room to drop their bags off since they had a free period before lunch.

"So, we just met Harry Potter," Danielle says calmly as she plops down on her bed.

"Yeah, you know, he's just the boy who lived, no big deal," Tracy laughs in amusement as she begins rummaging through her drawers for a sweater to put on. It was colder in the castle than she had predicted that morning.

"He's way more adorable than I pictured," Danielle lifts her eyebrows at her friend.

"Adorable?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Well, I don't know… when you tell me that a person was powerful enough to deflect a killing curse off the forehead causing the destruction of the world's most evil dark wizard I picture the person a little more buffed up," Danielle lays back and stares at the ceiling. "Harry is all… scrawny. And he's pretty modest too. He doesn't flaunt his fame or anything. It's cool. He's nothing like I would have expected."

"Too bad we weren't put in Gryffindor," Tracy sighs. "It would be cool to be in the same house as him. Josh is going to be so jealous when he hears I have classes with Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter should be jealous that he breathes the same air as Josh Ross's sister," Danielle teases and Tracy rolls her eyes.

"Let's go look around the castle some more before lunch," Tracy then suggests. "We haven't really got to explore yet." Danielle agrees and jumps off her bed and followed her friend out into the halls. After about ten minutes they hear some yelling from around a corner. Danielle and Tracy go to investigate. They are surprised to find Draco Malfoy with some little girl with Hufflepuff robes shoved up against the wall.

"I'm sorry Malfoy!" the little girl looks ready to cry as she struggles against Draco's grasp.

"Yes I bet you are!" Draco spits, not loosening his grip on the girl at all, "Maybe now you'll know not to let your mudblood self get in my way!" Tracy gasps at the boy's use of the vulgar name.

"Draco!" Danielle snaps causing the blonde Slytherin to look over with a scowl, "What are you doing?"

"Nothing that concerns you," He snarls. "So why don't you just go back where you came from and stop polluting this school with your presence!"

"Why do you have to talk to her like that?" Tracy looked outraged at Draco's degrading comments to her friend.

"Whatever," Danielle waves her friend off before pointing to the Hufflepuff girl. "Why don't you just let her go, Draco? She looks terrified. I'm sure she's learned her lesson."

"Sure," Draco releases the girl's robes and she immediately runs away down the hall. "But you haven't seemed to learn yours, Emmings." Draco turned and began walking threateningly toward the Ravenclaw girl. "How dare you think you're important enough to address me by my first name? You aren't even worthy of carrying your own last name! Obviously your father must have realized this too since he up and left you and your mother without a backwards glance!" Danielle just gaped at Draco as he comes up to face her looking absolutely vicious. This boy was that mean to poke fun of someone whose family had just gone through a divorce. It was even more upsetting that his information was uncomfortably accurate. Her father may not have initiated the family's split, but he had picked up and moved away before Danielle and her sister could even wrap their minds around the situation. Danielle knew that her father hadn't left because he didn't think his daughters deserved his last name. He'd just been deeply affected by the whole thing as well and needed his space to heal in his own way on his own time. But still, the fact that Draco knew that Danielle wasn't really speaking with her father at the moment and was using that against her made her angry.

"Leave them alone Malfoy!" Danielle and Tracy turn around to see the three Gryffindors that they'd met in Herbology walking up.

"Please tell me you two aren't sinking so low as to befriend these idiots," Draco looked between Tracy and Danielle with disgust with his hand out, gesturing to Ron, Hermione, and Harry.

"Better than trying to be friends with you, you little ferret!" Hermione snaps and Danielle notices her hand tighten threateningly around her wand which she'd pulled out from her robes. Harry and Ron were pulling out theirs as well.

"And why is that, Granger?" Draco sneers at Hermione as if she were the most disgusting thing on the planet.

"Because they'd be wasting their time, of course!" Hermione says plainly.

Harry speaks up then, "Even if they wanted to be your friend it wouldn't work. You're too cruel for anyone to ever care enough about you to want to be around you long enough to form a friendship." Danielle raised her eyebrows in surprise then. That comment had been a pretty low blow, even if Draco did sort of deserve it. These Gryffindors had seemed pretty nice earlier.

"Get lost Potter," Draco growls then. "And take your bucked tooth know it all and carrot topped weasel with you. Stop trying to butt into things that don't concern you just so you can try and act the hero like usual."

"Better a hero than a heartless Slytherin scum bug!" Ron defends his friend.

"Jeez," Danielle then jumps back in; looking around at the group in disbelief. "You know, while I agree that Draco isn't the most pleasant person I've ever met, I can't help but feel like you all aren't that nice to him either." Draco tilts his head at the girl then with his eyebrows raised. Harry and Ron looked outraged and Hermione looked embarrassed.

"Danielle, you just told me earlier that you thought Malfoy was an ass" Tracy reminds her friend. Draco's lip curled in fury.

"He is an ass, but I'm just wondering if something happened to cause these guys to hate each other so passionately" Danielle looks between the Gryffindors and the Slytherin, "Have any of you even attempted to get along with each other? Is this all a blood status thing?"

"I tried to be friends with Potter the first day we got here," Draco says puffing his chest out proudly, "But he refused my offer."

"Yeah, maybe because you had just got done insulting me in front of our entire class!" Ron shouts causing his whole face to go red with anger.

"Because you're nothing but a poor blood traitor!" Draco argues back. He continues to glare venomously at Ron for a second before suddenly widening his eyes and whipping around to look at Danielle. The girl just frowned at him. He had just answered her question about their animosity being based on blood. Danielle then turns to look over at Tracy and shakes her head.

"This school is a joke." Tracy just keeps quiet and looks down. She didn't want to get into this fight.

"Honestly Danielle, Malfoy's been the one to make the past five years of our life a living hell," Harry tries to defend his friends and Hogwarts but Danielle just shakes her head again.

"I can't take sides in this," Danielle decides. "I came here to try and escape the harsh judgments and tormenting from others."

"We were trying to help you!" Ron argues, "We were trying to get Malfoy to leave you alone!"

"I don't see how pulling a wand on him and calling him a heartless Slytherin scum bag was going to get him to back off," Danielle says seriously. "That just made him more hostile."

"He IS a scum bag," Harry shouts. "We heard what he was saying about you!"

"Whatever Potter," Draco growls out. "That doesn't even matter. Even with her tainted name she is still a pureblood and out ranks you and half the other people in this school!"

"Do you really believe that Draco or are you just regurgitating whatever crap you've heard your father say?" Danielle asks feeling annoyed. Draco glares back at her intensely; refusing to answer the question. Danielle finally lets out a disappointed sigh before turning and storming off away from them all without another word.

"I don't think your friend knows who she is dealing with," Draco then states, turning to face Tracy now. "You don't speak to a Malfoy like that and get away with it."

"I think it's you that's mistaken," Tracy sighs quietly, "Danielle isn't having a go at your entire bloodline Malfoy, just you. You should stop trying to defend your name and start defending yourself."

"This is ridiculous!" Draco shouts, "That doesn't even make any sense! You're all just wasting my time!" He then lets out an angry growl before also storming off.

"Well, that was embarrassing" Tracy looks to the three Gryffindors bashfully. "Sorry about that."

"Don't sweat it," Harry tells her as he stashes his wand back in his robes. "Malfoy gets to us all sometimes. Would you like to join us for lunch?"

"Sure," Tracy smiles, feeling happy to be making friends; especially with Harry Potter. She knew she'd have to wait until later when Danielle cooled down to talk to her.

* * *

Tracy sat down between Harry and Hermione and began loading up her plate with macaroni and cheese. Ron was sitting across from her doing the same. She had received a few odd looks when she had sat down with them at the Gryffindor table but was quickly accepted when she was introduced as a friend of the golden trio.

"So why was Malfoy having a go at Danielle anyway?" Ron asks curiously, "She was complaining about him in Herbology too. He doesn't usually go out of his way to torment Ravenclaws."

"Why does he go out of his way to torment anyone?" Tracy asks curiously, "I thought he was just messing with Danielle because of how she called him out on the Hogwarts express yesterday when he asked about our blood status."

"Well, he usually just goes after Gryffindors," Hermione explains, "because we're Slytherin's rival house."

"He picks on us three especially though," Ron then pipes in even though he had a mouth full of cheesy goodness. "He hate's Harry because of the rejection of Malfoy's friendship offer back in first year. And because Harry get's more attention than he does. He hates me because my family are purebloods but don't believe in all of you-know-who's rubbish. And, he really hate's Hermione because she's a muggleborn and because she beats him in all our classes."

"Except potions," Hermione frowns looking mad at herself for that bit.

"That's ridiculous!" Tracy shakes her head at how extreme Draco Malfoy was, "And Danielle is stuck with that guy for a potions partner!"

"That is just rotten luck," Ron says looking seriously upset over Danielle's misfortune.

"Who'd you get paired with?" Harry asks Tracy curiously.

"Oh," Tracy shrugs. "Blaise Zabini. He doesn't seem that bad though; just a bit quiet."

"He's a Slytherin," Ron points out. "Better not let your guard down. Don't tell him too much or he could use it against you."

Tracy laughs, "And I'm a Ravenclaw. Maybe he's the one that should watch out."

"He should feel lucky," Ron replies. "I wish I had you as a potions partner. You must be bloody brilliant to be sorted into Ravenclaw."

"Thank you," Tracy then looks down shyly at the compliment. Harry and Ron then started talking about when the first Gryffindor Quidditch practice would be and Tracy answered all Hermione's questions about going to school and learning magic in the states


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Danielle was sitting in the Ravenclaw common room, leveling up her Pokémon yet again to try to beat Ash. She had been carefully avoiding Tracy because she was still a bit annoyed from earlier and wasn't in the mood to admit that she shouldn't have lost her temper with the three Gryffindors that had just been trying to help her. She almost jumped out of her seat when a large red phoenix swooped into the common room through the fireplace and dropped an envelope in her lap. It was a letter from Dumbledore, summoning her down to the headmaster's office. Danielle let out a nervous sigh as she prepared herself for the worst. She was in trouble already.

She made her way through the halls, trying to read her school map when she finally came to the gargoyle that blocked the passage way up to Dumbledore's office. She gave the password that had been written in the note and made her way up the staircase.

"Ah! Ms. Emmings! You've received my letter, I see! Please, come have a seat!" Dumbledore smiled softly down from behind his desk.

"Am I in trouble?" Danielle asks nervously even though Dumbledore seemed to be in a good mood. She took a seat across from the extremely powerful and famous wizard hesitantly.

"Not that I'm aware of," Dumbledore smiles again but lowers his head to look at Danielle over his half moon glasses, "Although professor Snape has expressed some concern about the compatibility between you and your potions partner."

"That's why I'm here?" Danielle asks, "Because Draco can't keep his 'Malfoy opinions' to himself?"

Dumbledore laughs quietly at Danielle's statement, "No, you are here because I've just accepted your sister's request to come to Hogwarts as well."

"My sister?" Danielle couldn't believe it, "Abby's here?"

"Yes, she should be arriving any minute with Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore informs her, "I thought you'd like to be present when she gets sorted. She'll be joining classes with the first years of course, as she is only eleven."

"Ok, wow!" Danielle was shocked, "I didn't know my sister wanted to come here." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and Danielle watched McGonagall walk in, followed by Abby.

"Hey!" Abby exclaims, "Surprise!"

"Hi!" Danielle laughs, "What are you doing here?"

"Home isn't the same without you! And mom thought it might be good for us both to get away for a while," Abby explains with a shrug. Danielle couldn't argue with that and nodded her head.

"Alright, let's get you sorted so that you can go down to the great hall and meet your new class mates for dinner," McGonagall says as she gets the sorting hat from its shelf. Abby looks nervously at her sister before sitting down and allowing the hat to be placed on her head.

"Ah! A student coming in late I see!" The hat comes to life instantly on the small girls head, "And yes, I've just sorted your sister into Ravenclaw. But the two of you are not the same. You are a daring and courageous young girl. I'm going with GRYFFINDOR!"

"Congratulations!" McGonagall smiles as she pulls the hat off of Abby, "You're in my house!"

"Is that… good?" Abby looks to her sister, "I'm not with you."

"It's ok," Danielle reassures her sister. "Tracy's going to be jealous. You're in the same house as Harry Potter." Abby's eyes grow wide and her mouth falls open.

"_THE_ Harry Potter? Have you met him?" Abby asks excitedly.

"Yeah, I've met him. I was almost friends with him for a minute," Danielle says embarrassedly and she remembers how she'd insulted him earlier, "But his friends Ron and Hermione are cool too. You'll like them."

"You'll like Gryffindor," Dumbledore tells the girl then. "I was in that house too when I went to school." Abby looked fit to burst.

"Really?!" She gapes at the old wizard, "That is SO awesome!" Dumbledore lets out a chuckle before turning to Danielle.

"Well, why don't you accompany your sister down to the great hall and introduce her to her new house mates," He suggests before lowering his head again in amusement, "and if you have any more trouble with Mr. Malfoy, do not hesitate to let me know."

"Thanks sir," Danielle nods her head before taking her sister down to dinner.

* * *

"Do you mind if I join you guys again?" Tracy asks her Gryffindor comrades, "I still haven't seen or talked to Danielle and I don't want to sit at Ravenclaw by myself." She knew that there was a specific table for Ravenclaw students, but she wanted to sit with her potential friends.

"No problem," Hermione smiles and moves over to make room for Tracy.

"Isn't that Danielle coming in now?" Ron asks squinting over at the entrance to the great hall. "Who is that with her?"

Tracy turns around and sees that Ron is right. Danielle was walking into the great hall, followed by Abby. "That's her younger sister."

"They're coming over here," Harry states the obvious but it's ok because he's the boy who lived.

"Hey guys," Danielle says awkwardly. She felt weird talking to them after she had pretty much accused them of being mean to Draco who had been mean to her. "This is my sister, Abby. Apparently she's going to be going to school here as well. We've just come back from Dumbledore's office where she was sorted into Gryffindor."

"Alright! Welcome to the family then!" Ron smiles and moves over so that Abby can sit next to him, "Are you going to be a first year?" Abby nods nervously. Danielle moved to sit next to Tracy who she hadn't seen since before lunch. She hesitated for a moment and looked to Hermione for permission. The girl just nodded and gestured for her to sit down.

"I'm Ron by the way! Ron Weasley," Abby smiled politely and shook Ron's hand. "This is Hermione and Harry!" Abby just smiles and nods at all of them.

"She isn't usually this quiet," Tracy promises, "Soon she'll be getting into verbal spars with Malfoy as well." Danielle looks guilty at this but Tracy just laughs it off.

"I'm sorry about earlier guys," Danielle apologizes, "I shouldn't have made waves with you when you were just trying to get Draco to leave me alone."

"No problem," Ron says with a mouth full of food causing Hermione to send a glare his way. "Malfoy was being mean to you and you were on the defensive."

"I lose my temper around that insufferable rotter all the time," Harry admits with a shrug. Danielle is thankful that these Gryffindors seem to be forgiving her and makes a mental note to be nicer to them. Soon they were all done eating and stood up to go up to their dorms for the night.

"Take care of my sister," Danielle tells Hermione and then looks at her sister, "Do everything she says!"

"We'll be fine! See you tomorrow guys!" Hermione laughs as they part ways.

"So, how do you feel about your sister being here now?" Tracy asks her friend once they were walking alone together to the Ravenclaw common room.

"I'm glad she'll be away from the nonsense back home but I hope nobody like Draco gives her a hard time about anything," Danielle admits. "I might have to kill someone if that happens."

* * *

After eating breakfast with the Gryffindors the next morning, Tracy heads off to her ancient ruins class. Danielle had decided to take astronomy instead so Tracy had to try and find the classroom by herself. As she was walking, she was approached by two large boys.

"Hey Ross! Wait up!" Tracy raises an eyebrow at the two as she notices they are wearing Slytherin robes. She didn't want to judge them too quickly, but Ron seemed to think Slytherins were untrustworthy so she wanted to at least be cautious.

"Yes?" She asks impatiently after the two just stare at her awkwardly for a moment.

"Oh, right" The shorter, pudgier of the two mumbles, "Malfoy told us to tell you that you don't have to sit at the Gryffindor table at meals."

"Malfoy?" Tracy crosses her arms and starts to feel a bit nervous. She didn't want anything to do with that nasty boy. And why was he sending random kids around the school to talk to her.

"Yeah, he says that you can sit at the Slytherin table if the Ravenclaw one is… uhh," The short boy looks up to his friend for help.

"If the Ravenclaw table isn't… uh… good enough for you," The taller boy finishes. Tracy frowns and gets the impression that these two aren't that bright.

"Ok hold on," She shakes her head, "Who ARE you guys?"

"I'm Vincent Crabbe," The shorter one says, "And this is Gregory Goyle."

"Right," Tracy states, "well, I know that I don't have to sit at the Gryffindor table but that's where my friends are. I want to sit there. It has nothing to do with the Ravenclaw table being unsuitable for me. That's just ridiculous."

"Malfoy says that we're supposed to get you away from Potter and the others though," Crabbe shrugs as if he didn't understand why he was being forced to relay these messages.

"We weren't supposed to tell her that!" Goyle shouts at his friend after elbowing him in the side.

"Oh," Crabbe furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "Well, either way, Malfoy thinks you can do better than Emmings and the other Gryffindors."

"You can tell Malfoy that if he has a problem with the people I'm friends with, than he can come tell me himself," Tracy says plainly. "Now, I'm sorry to cut this short but I have a class to get too."

"Uh… ok," Crabbe says awkwardly.

"We'll tell Malfoy what you said," Goyle says and Tracy just rolls her eyes and walks away with a little wave of her hand. She had no idea what had just happened. Draco was trying to separate her from Danielle and her new Gryffindor friends. That was annoying.

* * *

At lunch, Tracy sat with the Gryffindors despite what the two odd Slytherin boys had told her earlier. She didn't see what was wrong with sitting at the Gryffindor table anyway. It was just a table. Also, she wanted to get her friend's opinions on what had happened.

"Are you serious?" Danielle asks looking seriously irritated, "He must like you or something Tracy. He was yelling at me yesterday in potions about you not getting sorted into Slytherin too."

"I don't think so," Tracy says with displeasure.

"Well why else would he be going through all of this?" Danielle asks with her eyes narrowed, "You haven't even really talked to him at all."

"Don't go out with Malfoy," Harry says quickly and Ron nods in agreement.

"I don't plan on it," Tracy laughs at the absurd suggestion. "The guy doesn't even have the guts to come up and talk to me himself."

"Yeah, Crabbe and Goyle are like Malfoy's sidekicks or something" Ron shrugs as he stabs his fork into a slice of ham.

"More like his lapdogs," Hermione laughs sarcastically. "The two follow Malfoy around and obey his every command as if he were Merlin himself."

"Well, I'm just going to ignore them all," Tracy shrugs. "Maybe they'll just go away." The girl then looks to her friend's little sister, "So, how do you like Hogwarts so far?"

"It's awesome!" Abby's face lights up, "I can't believe I'm actually going to have flying lessons! They didn't have that at my old school! I've never even touched a broom!"

"You'll have to try out for the Gryffindor Quidditch team next year," Ron then smiles happily. "I can already tell you'll be an awesome chaser! Don't you think Harry?"

"I've hardly known the girl for a day and I've never seen her fly," Harry laughs at Ron. "But yeah, she probably is."

"Harry and Ron are on the Gryffindor team," Hermione tells Abby with a sigh. "You'll get to see them play once the Quidditch season starts."

"None of us have seen a real Quidditch game before," Danielle admits then and her new friends looked shocked. Quidditch was a way bigger deal on this side of the ocean, apparently.

"What positions do you guys play?" Abby asks her house mates.

"I'm the seeker," Harry lifts his chin proudly. "Ron's the keeper."

"Wow!" Abby stares at the two with admiration.

"So, you've really never been on a broom before?" Ron then turns to the Ravenclaw girls, "Tracy, you look like you'd be a good seeker."

"No thank you," Tracy waves her hands with a laugh. "I prefer having both my feet on the ground."

"Same here!" Hermione says seriously and Danielle agrees.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

It was a few days later and Danielle was on her way back to the Ravenclaw common room when she ran into her least favorite person.

"All alone, Emmings?" Draco folds his arms and sneers down at her as he blocks her way. "I guess Ross finally realized how much of an embarrassment you were to her." Danielle bit back her temper as she eyes the two large boys standing behind her Slytherin bully. She figured they were Crabbe and Goyle.

"Or maybe we aren't up each other's rear ends all the time and have different class schedules," Danielle sighs and then adds "Can you please just leave me and Tracy alone through? I don't even know why you sent your friends after her anyway. She hasn't done anything to you." Draco lets out a sarcastic laugh.

"No, but she's humiliating herself by associating with you, potty, weasel and the mudblood," He states with a snarl.

"Don't call Hermione that," Danielle says angrily.

"You defend her but not your precious Potter and his blood traitor?" Draco asks curiously.

"Harry and Ron gave as good as they got with the name calling the other day. I just don't like hearing derogatory terms about muggleborns," Danielle admits with a shrug. "Now, can you please just let me go?"

"I'm afraid not," Draco stands up a little taller to try and intimidate. "I hear your sister has come to lower the Hogwarts standards now as well; and she was sorted into Gryffindor too. No wonder your mother shipped you two off."

"Leave my sister alone," Danielle says feeling panicked now. "Draco, she has enough going on without you messing around with her."

"Stop addressing me by my name!" Draco then takes a threatening step forward and points his finger in Danielle's face. "And don't tell me what to do!" Danielle grits her teeth and resists the urge to sock this guy in face. Instead, she brings her hand up and pushes Draco's finger down and out of her face.

"How dare you touch me?" Draco snaps and Crabbe and Goyle start growling and cracking her knuckles. Danielle rolls her eyes.

"Oh, for gosh sake" She shakes her head and turns around and walks away. She'd just have to take a different way to her common room. If she stayed she knew she'd eventually lose her temper and give in to the urge to hex Malfoy and his two body guards.

* * *

Tracy was on her way to dinner after a rough day of transfiguration and defense against the dark arts. She became aware fairly quickly that she was being followed. She finally turns around and lets out a sigh to see a boy with Slytherin robes again.

"Tracy Ross," The tall boy walks up with a smirk. He had olive skin and dirty blonde hair. He stops in front of her and holds out his hand, "My name's Theodore Nott, but you can call me Theo."

"Why were you following me?" Tracy asks warily and ignores the outstretched hand in front of her.

"I've been waiting eagerly for a chance to meet you," The boy confesses; his dark brown eyes boring into Tracy's. "I've heard so much about you… and your family."

Tracy frowns and leans away from the Slytherin, "From Malfoy no doubt! It was him that sent you to talk to me, right? Tell him to leave me alone or I'm going to come tell him myself!"

"We just want to be friends," Nott says with deceptive kindness. Tracy could hear the sarcastic undertones in his voice though.

"Well, if you and your other Slytherin buddies can find a way to get over your irrational hatred of my other friends then perhaps I'll consider giving you a chance," Tracy challenges and she watches irritation flash on Nott's face.

"You have no idea who you're messing with Ross," Nott says darkly.

"You mean you aren't a bunch of bigoted fools who are blindly supporting your parent's unfounded prejudices?" Tracy puts her hands on her hips causing Nott to bare his teeth angrily. Tracy just waves him off, "Honestly, you could try to get to know someone before you decide to hate them!"

"You're pushing your luck Ross," Nott hisses. "Malfoy's giving you a golden opportunity to redeem yourself."

"That's very kind of him," Tracy shakes her head in exasperation. "But tell him that I respectfully decline." Nott lets out a huff of indignation.

"Oh, I'll tell him alright!" He growls before storming off. Tracy frowns as she watches the boy walk away before continuing down to dinner.

* * *

"Harry! No!" Hermione shouts and tugs her friend back down to the Gryffindor table by his robes, "Do you want to get yourself expelled?"

"Didn't you hear what Tracy just said?" Harry bellows as he clutches his wand in his fist, "Malfoy's got those Slytherin gits following her around the school! Nott practically threatened her!"

"It's alright Harry," Tracy looks guilty for even bringing anything up now. She hadn't known Harry would get so upset. "I doubt they'll do anything serious."

"You don't know that!" Harry grumbles as he glares at his dinner, "You don't know what that jerk is willing to do!"

"Maybe we should tell Dumbledore," Hermione suggests hesitantly. "It's not fair for you guys to constantly have to worry about what may or may not happen."

"No," Tracy shakes her head. "Dumbledore doesn't need to be bothered by something so childish. I'm sure he has better things to do than sorting out squabbles between students."

"I still think it's strange that Malfoy is so determined to pull you to his side," Ron states curiously. "Maybe he really does fancy you… strange though, I didn't think he liked anything but himself."

"It would be better if he actually did like me," Tracy sighs. "That would at least be a legitimate reason for what he's doing. But, I think he honestly just believes I'm better than all of you. He cornered Danielle the other day and started dogging on her again. He even started making jabs about Abby. He just takes the blood stuff too seriously."

"Well, he better stay away from you," Harry says seriously.

"And Abby!" Ron defends the little Gryffindor even though she wasn't there at the moment.

* * *

"Ah, the Emmings sisters"

Danielle lets out an irritated sigh as she turns to see Draco Malfoy strolling over with both Crabbe and Goyle behind him. She was trying to enjoy a relaxing free period with her sister out by the lake and didn't feel like getting into a fight in front of her sister. She had actually been trying to keep her sister away from the Slytherin.

"Hello," Abby smiles politely and Draco frowns at her.

"What are you doing out here?" Danielle asks as calmly as she can.

"I don't answer to you," Draco spits looking instantly furious.

"I was just hoping that you didn't come all the way out here just to seek me out," Danielle says honestly. It was one thing for him to have a go at her when they ran into each other in the halls, but if he went out of his way to find her… that was just annoying.

"That would make you feel important wouldn't it, Emmings?" Draco asks looking smug, "Sorry to disappoint, but I was merely on my way to the Quidditch pitch."

"You play Quidditch?" Abby then perks up looking excited. Draco raises an eyebrow at the girl and nods his head as if it were obvious.

"What position are you?" Abby asks.

"I'm the Slytherin seeker," Draco looks annoyed that she didn't already know all of this.

"Really?" Danielle asks feeling honestly surprised, "I was told you had to be pretty agile to be a seeker."

"Are you implying that I'm not?!" Draco balls up his fists defensively at his sides.

"I was implying that you are," Danielle frowns in irritation. "Jeez Draco, I'm not stupid. You obviously wouldn't have made it onto the Slytherin team if you weren't good." Draco seemed to falter a bit before narrowing his eyes.

"Stop calling me Draco!" He shouts causing Abby to jump at his outburst.

"Seriously?" Danielle finally stands up so that she'd be in a less vulnerable position, "You're still stuck on that?" Draco just scowls at her. "Do you want to know why you want me to call you Malfoy so badly?" Danielle then asks but doesn't wait for a response. "It's because having people call you by your last name is a constant reminder to you and them of your blood status, wealth, and whatever else. You're afraid that by calling you Draco, I'm forgetting all the reasons that I should respect and look up to you."

"What?" Draco rolls his eyes and sneers at her.

"It's the same reason why you call me by my last name. Every time you call me Emmings you just think of my whole family and all the reasons why you can't associate with me. If you were to call me Danielle, maybe the whole illusion of what an Emmings is would disappear, and you would actually get to know who I really am." Danielle rambles off.

"I'll always hate you," Draco spits, "you and your entire family."

"I don't care if you hate me," Danielle says honestly, "as long as you hate ME for something I've done rather than something I've had no control over."

Draco just glares over at the two sisters.

"I don't particularly like you either Draco. And, no matter how many times you shove the Malfoy name in my face with all its implied power and wealth, no matter what anybody calls you it'll never change the fact that you are a mean, cruel person," Danielle turned away from him and looked to her sister, "let's go, we don't want him to be late to his practice."

* * *

"How come that boy said that he hates our family?" Abby asks her sister later that day at dinner.

"I'll assume you're talking about Malfoy?" Ron asks looking angry, "Did he do something to you Abby?"

"No, he was just arguing with me again," Danielle assures the Gryffindors and Tracy before looking to her sister. "Just ignore that guy, ok?"

"Yeah, she's right" Tracy pats Abby on the head, "He's just a weirdo." Ron and Harry seemed to think that there were a few other adjectives to describe the Slytherin but they kept their mouths shut.

"But, he plays Quidditch! And that's cool," Abby says as she looks to Harry and Ron.

"Yeah, is he any good?" Danielle asks curiously, "He got all defensive earlier and I don't know why."

"Well, he sort of bought his way onto the team in third year" Hermione frowns at the memory. "His father got the whole Slytherin team new brooms so they made Malfoy seeker."

"Unbelievable!" Tracy gasps, "How could Dumbledore allow that? Malfoy must be at least ok to get on the team!"

"Well, I guess he isn't terrible," Ron admits before smirking. "He's never been able to catch the snitch before Harry though, ever."

"Nice!" Abby beams over at Harry and gives him a high five. The conversation then quickly turns to Quidditch and how Ron and Harry were determined to win the Quidditch cup that year.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The next day, Tracy and Danielle found themselves in their potions class once again. Nobody had sat with their partners, hoping that Snape would have them work on something individually today.

"Look at how all the Slytherins keep glancing over here," Tracy shakes her head as she looks over to her friend. Danielle glances over to see Blaise Zabini staring down at her.

"Yes, they are looking lovingly at you and glaring daggers at me," Danielle sighs rubbing her palms into her eyes, "it's giving me a headache already."

"Thank merlin I wasn't partnered up with Theodore Nott." Tracy continues, "I'm Lucky that I got partnered with the one Slytherin that at least keeps his mouth shut."

"Well, I think my partner makes up for the lack of evil in yours," Danielle laughs grimly as they both look down to Malfoy and his platinum blonde hair. He turned around as if he sensed them staring and sent Tracy a smirk before snarling in Danielle's direction.

"He really is a nasty character," Tracy says with a straight face. "I hope his parents arrange him a marriage with the ugliest, nastiest, pureblood women they can find."

"Purebloods still have arranged marriages over here?" Danielle asked with a scowl.

"Most of them don't. But some of the oldest wizarding families who try to hold up tradition do. Families that still believe in an all pure-blood society are the ones that usually still practice arranged marriages." Tracy explains. Danielle opens her mouth to start an argument about purebloods and their stupid obsession with the past when Professor Snape busts through the door causing everyone to jump.

"Is there a reason that none of you are sitting with your partners?" Snape asked once he was in the front of the classroom. Everyone stayed silent, fearful of losing house points or getting detention. "I forgive your lapse in judgment this once but trust me when I say you'd be wise to not let it happen again."

Everyone jumped up quickly to go sit with their partners. Danielle rolled her eyes at Tracy before heading down to sit next to Draco. Tracy went to gather her things but was surprised when Blaise slid into Danielle's now vacant seat next to her.

"Today you'll all be working on the sleeping potion found on page 29 in your text book," Snape announced before anybody could start talking. "I suggest that you save the socializing until after class since this potion will take you the entire time period."

"Best get started then," Blaise sighs opening his book, "I'll get the ingredients."

Tracy didn't have time to respond because Blaise had already stood up to go to the supply closet. She sighed and started reading through the directions quickly so she could have some idea of what they were supposed to do. It was a very complicated potion but she felt confident that she and Blaise could make it before class was over. She had made a fainting potion similar to this the previous year at her American school and she and Blaise seemed to work well together in comfortable silence.

"Pst! Ross!" Tracy looked up from her book and over to her right. It was Theodore Nott. "Some of the other Slytherins and I are hanging out by the Quidditch pitch this weekend. You're welcome to come if you'd like."

Tracy shook her head in annoyance and turned back to her potions book. This idiot was going to get her in trouble with Snape if she didn't ignore him. She saw Malfoy out of the corner of her eye, looking in her direction, probably waiting to see if she would agree to Nott's request.

"It'll be right before dinner," Theodore wasn't giving up. Blaise had finally returned with their ingredients and started putting the first few things in their cauldron while giving his fellow Slytherin a warning look. Theodore was about to say something when Snape walked up.

"Mr. Nott, why is it that Ms. Ross and Mr. Zabini are already on the third step of the potion and you haven't even retrieved your supplies?" Snape's lip curled in annoyance. "Did I not say that there was to be no side conversations during this lesson?"

"Sorry sir," Theodore mumbled before heading off toward the ingredients.

"5 points to Slytherin," Snape called causing Tracy's jaw to drop in outrage. Snape raised an eyebrow at her, "for Blaise's ability to get straight to work."

Tracy narrowed her eyes at the Professor as he walked away from her. She took her anger out on mastering their potion. If Blaise got house points than so should she! They were partners!

"That wasn't fair," Blaise tells her in monotone before looking down to his textbook. Tracy just shrugged and continued working on counting out beetles eyes and chopping up mint leaves.

"Will you pay attention?" Danielle poked Draco as she tried to do everything in the directions herself. Draco was hardly helping her. He would throw something in their cauldron every once in a while but mainly kept his focus on Blaise and Tracy. "I can't do this by myself you know! I thought you were an expert at Potions or something."

Draco slowly tore his gaze from the rows behind him and turned to look at his partner. She was frowning while looking back and forth between her textbook and cauldron. She lifted a hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead before pulling over a couple of leaves and beginning to dice them up. He smirked at her.

"I'm glad you're happy," Danielle frowned before cupping up the bits of mint and tossing them into the bubbling potion. She grabbed a spoon and began stirring it quickly, letting her eyes flick back down to the pages of her book.

"What's with the freckles anyway?" Draco asked sounding bored, "are you trying to be a Weasley or something?"

"I was sort of born with them… obviously," Danielle replied dryly. "Why don't you count out 20 of those round purple things for me?"

Danielle was surprised when he grabbed the bag and did what she asked before realizing that he had only done it because Snape had walked up to their table. He peered down his long greasy nose before looking at Draco. "Well done Mr. Malfoy! This is coming along quite nicely! Good work." Danielle's face fell and she stopped stirring the potion as her teacher walked away. She felt her temper flare and she fought the urge to tip the boiling hot cauldron onto Draco's lap.

Once the class was over, Snape announced that Draco and Blaise had been the only ones to brew the potion correctly in their allotted time. As a reward, the two slytherins and their partners were excused from doing that week's homework. He had stressed to Danielle and Tracy how very lucky they were to have Draco and Blaise as partners. Danielle wanted to rip Snape's ears off.

* * *

Abby smiled happily as she walked back into Hogwarts after her first flying lesson which had gone extremely well. She had never really tried to ride a broom before but it was something she had always known she would love. Quidditch wasn't as big of a deal in the states as it was here in London but now that Abby knew about it, she was hooked. She hoped she would be able to make it onto the Gryffindor team once she was a second year.

She was lost in her thoughts as she made her way into the entrance hall of the school when a group of young Slytherins surrounded her.

"Go bug my sister," Abby says to them. She wasn't sure why these kids would be ganging up on her but she didn't want them to ruin her good mood. She could only assume they had something to do with her sister and Draco's odd rivalry.

"You are just as much of an embarrassment to the wizarding world as she is," one of the kids taunted and Abby narrowed her eyes in confusion. Another one of the kids drew out their wand causing Abby to also yank her wand out in retaliation. Her wand wasn't going to do much good through if they did start dueling right there in the entrance hall. Abby hardly knew any spells since she was just a first year. She'd have better luck with her fists than with magic.

"I'm not a squib!" Abby defended herself. It was the only thing she could think of. She didn't know about the importance some people placed on heritage and bloodlines since she was so young. She also hadn't been around a lot of older wizards since she was just starting school.

"You mind as well be," a girl to Abby's right sneers. "Your parents must be pretty embarrassed by you for them to send you off to the other side of the world. Or perhaps your mother just wanted to get rid of her baggage so that she could jump into the arms of the first willing wizard she could find." Abby recoiled a bit in shock.

"What?" She asks quietly.

"How else is she supposed to support herself now that your father's gone?" One of the boys taunts, "It doesn't take a genius to realize that the chain of apothecaries your father owns was the only thing keeping your family relatively stable."

"I…how do you know so much about my family?" Abby asks feeling extremely vulnerable in this situation. She didn't know how to defender herself because she didn't know what she was being bullied about. Neither she nor her family had done anything to these kids so Abby wasn't sure what they were so upset about. It wasn't like the divorce had affected them.

"It's hard not to know about the laughing stock of the wizarding world," the girl from before laughs evilly. "And if that's not all, Malfoy's told us that you and your sister are a couple of blood traitors." Abby was even more confused now.

"Blood what?" She asks.

"Ah, do my eyes betray me?" The slytherins and Abby whip around to see Dumbledore making his way down the staircase towards them, "A duel right in the middle of the entrance hall; how exciting." The slytherins make quick work in stowing their wands back in their robes. Abby just lowers hers down to her side feeling relieved. There was no way she'd be the one to get in trouble. She was obviously the one completely surrounded.

"Headmaster, we were just…" A Slytherin girl tries to come up with an excuse but Dumbledore holds up his hand to silence the frantic student.

"Unfortunately, I just saw Mr. Filtch heading this way," Dumbledore sighs sadly. "And I'd hate for him to get the wrong idea and go to your heads of houses. I'm quite certain there is a rule against using magic in the hallways. Such a silly rule to have to lose house points over, I think." Abby saw his point. Mr. Filtch was the grumpy old caretaker who scavenged the school halls for rule breakers. He'd love a chance to go to Snape and McGonagall and get them all punished.

"Perhaps it'd be wise to call this one a draw and head back to your common rooms," Dumbledore's words come across as a suggestion but the Slytherins know a polite command when they hear one. They all quickly scatter over to the staircase to go down to the dungeons.

"Thank you, sir," Abby says quietly; feeling overwhelmed by Dumbledore's presence.

"You are very welcome, Ms. Emmings" Dumbledore gives the girl a nod before striding off toward the great hall; humming pleasantly to himself.

* * *

"I can't believe Malfoy sent a bunch of puny slytherins to mess with you," Tracy frowns down at Abby during dinner. They were all at the Ravenclaw table this time since people were starting to get annoyed at Danielle and Tracy for always sitting at a different table.

"I'm going to rip out his voice box with my bare hands," Danielle growls causing Ron to slide away from her a bit out of fear.

"It's always the same thing with Malfoy," Hermione sighs, "always has to be tormenting SOMEONE. I'm sorry about him Abby; you shouldn't have to deal with that."

"Doesn't matter if it's 'mudbloods' or 'blood-traitors', as long as he gets an excuse to torment someone," Ron agrees through a mouthful of grilled cheese.

"Yes, of course, emphasis on the blood." Danielle frowns, "We'll see if his precious pure blood does anything to save him from the devastation I've got planned for him."

"Danielle, you aren't going to fight Malfoy." Tracy half laughs, "You could get expelled."

"What if Dumbledore hadn't come by, huh?" Danielle bellows, "They had their wands out and aimed at my sister!"

"What's a blood traitor?" Abby then pipes in and everyone turns to look at her warily. "Ron, you just said it and those Slytherins called me and Danielle that word too. What does that mean?"

"They did?" Tracy asks looking at Danielle; worried for her reaction. Danielle just turned around in her seat to glare at the Slytherin table as Hermione and Tracy attempted to explain, as delicately as they could, the whole pureblood muggleborn thing. Danielle hated that her sister had to be dragged into this. Draco had gone too far.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

"It's strange that you haven't heard from either of your parents since you and Abby got here," Tracy points out to her friend as they study together in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Yes well, it works both ways" Danielle shrugs, "I haven't written to them either."

"Maybe you should," Tracy suggests as she flips through her transfiguration notes.

"And tell them what? How great Hogwarts has been so far?" Danielle asks sarcastically, "I don't want my mom pulling me and Abby out so that we have to go back to school in the states. And my dad doesn't need anything else to stress out about."

"I guess you're right," Tracy sighs. "I've had to be careful about what I send to my mom and Josh too. They were already nervous about us coming over here with all the stuff about you-know-who being back."

"Maybe they were right," Danielle looks to her friend sadly. "Maybe we shouldn't have come out here. If there's really a war brewing than the States would at least be safer."

"You think we'll be safe just because we'll be back home?" Tracy asks incredulously, "We'll just be putting off the inevitable. Even back when you-know-who was at large before there was conflict that broke out in the states."

"Yeah but dealing with petty hate crimes is different than being in the middle of a war," Danielle points out.

"We don't know if there's going to be a war," Tracy tells her friend. "But if there is, wouldn't you want to fight?"

"What?" Danielle gasps at the boldness of her friend.

"I know we haven't lived over here for very long, but think about it" Tracy says seriously, "You-know-who slaughtered Harry's parents' right in front of him when he was just a baby. And he and his death eaters wouldn't think twice before blasting Hermione to bits… or even Ron for that matter. Doesn't that bother you?"

"I… yes that does bother me," Danielle admits. "But… we're just kids."

"You just turned 17," Tracy sighs, "and I will be too in just a few months. That means we're legally considered adults in the wizarding world! And Harry and the others are the same age as us! I know we aren't from London but the outcome of the struggle will affect the entire world. I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving our friends to fight for us."

"It seems like you've thought a lot about this," Danielle says feeling a little uncomfortable with this topic of fighting a war. "We don't even know if…"

"Harry saw you-know-who come back Danielle," Tracy sighs. "It's like all he talks about whenever we aren't bashing on Malfoy. He saw you-know-who come back to life at the end of his fourth year. He even fought death eaters in the ministry of magic just last year. Him, Ron, and Hermione! Did you know that?"

"No," Danielle looks shocked at the news. "No… I didn't… how come we never heard?"

"Because the ministry is trying to keep it hushed up so people don't freak out," Tracy explains irritably.

"Wait a second, why were Ron, Hermione, and Harry allowed to fight in the ministry?" Danielle then asks curiously. They were just students after all.

"They weren't allowed," Tracy laughs then. "They snuck out of school. Some other adults, aurors I guess, found out and showed up just in time to arrest most of the death eaters. At least, that's what Harry told me. "

"How did Harry know that the death eaters were even going to be at the ministry?" Danielle continues to question. Some of this stuff wasn't making sense in her head. Tracy frowned as she thought about that too.

"That's a good question," She looks to her friend and purses her lips in thought. "I don't know. I just figured, you know, Harry Potter and danger… from everything we've heard the two just attract each other."

"I guess," Danielle shakes her head before letting out a sigh.

* * *

That weekend, Abby made her way onto the Quidditch field with Ron and Harry. She was super excited because they'd invited her to fly with them! They were going to start teaching her about Quidditch now so that she could try out for the team when she was a second year. She knew she had to impress them. Harry was the captain and seeker of the Gryffindor team and Ron was the Keeper. They were really talented so she hoped she could learn a lot from them.

"Oy! Look! It's Potter and the Weasel!"

"What are the Slytherins doing here?" Ron asked Harry who shrugged. Tracy, Danielle and Hermione, who were climbing up into the stands to watch their friends play, let out annoyed sighs when they noticed the unwanted company.

"Oh yeah… I forgot that Nott said they were hanging out here this weekend," Tracy groans as she watches her friends on the field being approached by the gang of slytherins.

"Finally ditched the mudblood Granger?" Nott asks, coming up to face the three Gryffindors, "And replaced her with the little Emmings." He laughed as he smiles predatorily down at the first year.

"I suppose it is a step up," Malfoy smirked, "But not by much." Nott, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle started laughing around him.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Ron asks in irritation, "You guys aren't even practicing!"

"So! It's not like you're out here to practice either" Nott sneered, "Emmings isn't on the Gryffindor team, she's just a first year."

"I'm training for next year!" Abby took a step forward bravely, "So that when I_ AM_ on the team, I can help Gryffindor beat _YOU_!"

"What is Abby doing?" Tracy sighs, standing up quickly. "She does not need to make herself a target for these guys."

"We better go down there before she and the boys get into a fight," Hermione agrees, standing up as well. Danielle shakes her head as she follows the two girls down onto the field.

"Malfoy! Look! Tracy actually showed up!" Blaise points over towards the Ravenclaw girl when he sees her walking up.

"Ugh... and she brought that mudblood and Emmings filth along with her," Nott spits, crossing his arms.

"Tracy Ross," Malfoy smirked at her, "A pleasure you could make it."

"I'm not here for your stupid hang out," Tracy tells him, "I'm here with my_ real_ friends."

Draco looked furious at this but recovered quickly. "So, you're all here to train mini Emmings. What position are you after I wonder? Surely Weasley and Potter wouldn't give up their spots. And you don't have the build to be a beater. Am I wrong to assume you are aspiring to be a chaser?"

Abby just looked hesitantly over at her sister, not really sure how to respond. She was hoping that Danielle would take over the argument for her now since she was better at dealing with these older Slytherin boys.

"You know," Malfoy continued, "Theo over here is a chaser for Slytherin. I believe he could be of much more help to you than either Potter or Weasley. What do you say Nott? Are you up for a little Quidditch practice?"

"Bring it on!" Harry puffs up his chest.

"No!" Hermione interjects, "Come on Harry. We can come back another day. Ron, your sister Ginny is on the Gryffindor team and would be more than happy to train with Abby if she needs a chaser to work with."

"Yeah, but then we wouldn't get a chance to make these Slytherin idiots eat their words," Ron balls up his fists as he glares at Draco.

"How about you just eat them for us?" Draco smirks and tilts up his chin, "Merlin knows your family can't afford a decent meal anyway." Ron's face flushes red and he pulls out his wand. Nott retaliates and pulls his out as well.

"You be nice to Ron!" Abby pipes in with a childish stomp of her foot.

"How cute, Weasley" Nott smirks at Ron, "You've got yourself a pet first year. And she's a blood traitor just like you."

"Leave Abby out of this," Harry shouts as he also pulls out his wand.

"Wrong move, Potter" Draco bears his teeth and gets out his own wand as well. Danielle sighs and bravely moves so that she's in between Ron, Harry, Nott, and Draco's wands.

"Enough of this," She says with a warning glance at Draco before looking to Harry and Ron. "The Slytherins were here first so let's just back down and leave them alone before someone gets hurt. You have a whole year before my sister can try out for the team so losing a couple hours of practice tonight isn't a huge deal."

"Fine…" Harry finally concedes sounding disappointed. Both he and Ron tuck their wands back into their robes, throw their brooms over their shoulders and stomp off the field. Hermione and Abby follow them back up to the castle but Tracy stayed when she saw that Danielle hadn't moved to leave yet.

"What do you want?" Nott glared at her. Danielle didn't acknowledge him but looked seriously at Draco. He was smirking at her.

"Don't you dare think that you just got away with something," Danielle hisses as she gets right up in Draco's face looking ready to murder the guy, "I heard about you sending those little Slytherins to bully my sister the other day. I don't care if you tell all your stupid friends to be mean to me but I specifically told you to leave my sister out of this! I wasn't playing around when I said that Draco! She's just a kid! So, I'll give you just one more warning. If I hear her mention anything about a Slytherin giving her a hard time again, I will not stand for it."

Draco looked un-phased by Danielle's threat and merely rolled his eyes. "You can leave now Emmings. Of course, Tracy is welcome to stay as long as she wants."

* * *

"Did you see what they posted up in the common room this morning?" Tracy asks Danielle as they practice a body binding spell in their charms class.

"The one about the Hogsmead trip or whatever?" Danielle asks as she moves her wand in a circle like Professor Flitwick had showed them. "I remember having my mom sign the permission slip but I don't even know what that place is."

"It's this small wizarding village near Hogwarts with a bunch of shops and stuff," Tracy explains. "Only the older students get to visit it. It sounds fun, I think we should go."

"I really hate shopping," Danielle tells her friend even though Tracy was already aware of that fact.

"Yes, but we've been stuck in this castle for two whole months now and I think we could use a break from it," Tracy says honestly.

"Are Harry and the others going?" Danielle asks.

"I'm not sure," Tracy shrugs. "We don't have to go with them if you don't want to. This could be exclusive bestie time!" Danielle laughs as she flicks her wand in a circle again.

"I suppose we can go" she shrugs, "Like you said, it might be nice to get out of the school for a while."

Professor Flitwick walked up at the moment then clapping his hands excitedly, "Very good Ms. Emmings! Very good! Five points to Ravenclaw! And Ms. Ross, goodness, I knew you'd do well! I've heard about your brother! That's another five points! Well done!"

"Wait, 5 points because of the spell or 5 points for Josh being your brother?" Danielle leans over and whispers teasingly after their head of house moves to watch some other students.

"If it was for Josh it would have been more than 5," Tracy drags out the joke and they both break down in laughter.

* * *

"Tracy, how come Danielle didn't come down with you?" Hermione asks her Ravenclaw friend as they all found a comfy area to sit and do homework and hang out together.

"She likes to study alone," Tracy explains. "It's weird but that's what works for her. And I think she feels bad for always being in an angry mood around you guys."

"She shouldn't feel bad," Harry says seriously. "It's not her fault that Malfoy is always ruining her life."

"Yeah, but she also sort of doesn't side with you guys if you fight with him and she feels uncomfortable about that," Tracy feels awkward having to explain her friend's feelings. "Like at the Quidditch field this weekend. She told you guys to leave it alone instead of standing up for Ron when Malfoy made that crack about his family."

"She was the smart one," Hermione adds in now. "If she hadn't done what she did, one of us could have ended up in the hospital wing. It wouldn't be the first time."

"I don't know. She just feels weird about it," Tracy shrugs.

"Well, tell her not to" Ron laughs as he pulls out an essay he had to do for his defense against the dark arts class. He moved over to sit by Hermione to try and get her to help him. Harry moved so he was next to Tracy because he needed help with transfiguration and Tracy was pretty good at that subject.

"Do you think you'll come back to Hogwarts next year?" Harry asks Tracy out of the blue after a few minutes.

"I don't see why I wouldn't," Tracy looks to the boy curiously. "Why?"

"I just thought you might get scared off after everything we've told you," Harry says seriously. "I mean, something crazy has happened to me every single year so far at this school. I don't know what's brewing this year but when it hits, you're bound to get pulled in if you're friends with me."

"Is this a friendly heads up?" Tracy asks with a laugh.

"He's not kidding," Ron calls over to them. "I hope you're prepared. So far we've had to go up against a troll, a three headed dog, a possessed professor, a basilisk, dementors, giant spiders, the triwizard tournament, death eaters, and even you-know-who himself. Who knows what could be next?"

"I see you've left Malfoy off the list," Tracy points out in amusement.

"He's his own category!" Hermione declares, "Don't even get us started on everything he's done! What with the name calling and the teeth growing hexes, and Ron puking up slugs."

"Ew! Really?" Tracy turns and looks at Ron whose face went white at just the memory.

"Don't even remind me," He whimpers.

"Gosh, that's rough," Tracy admits. "But, I'm not scared off yet. I promise. Besides, this year seems to be going fairly smoothly so far, don't you think?"

* * *

"You just had to jinx it didn't you," Ron mumbles the next morning at breakfast to find the great hall exploding with talk about that day's main headline.

"Mass death eater break out at Azkaban," Danielle feels sick as she looks down at the terrifying faces looking up at her from the daily prophet. "That's… great."

"They'll catch them again, won't they?" Abby asks her friends confidently, "They got them before."

"Yes, well…" Hermione looks warily over at Danielle to see how they should respond.

"You know what dementors are right?" Tracy asks the little girl who nods, "And you know who you-know-who is. Well the ministry of magic uses the dementors to guard the Azkaban prison. They make it impossible for anyone to escape. The fact that the death eaters have gotten out means that the dementors must have let them leave. And that leads us to believe that the dementors are now on you-know-who's side."

"That's … really bad," Abby looks at her sister fearfully. "No death eaters or dementors will come here, will they?"

"I don't think so Abby. Don't forget, Dumbledore is here. He's the most powerful wizard there is," Tracy explains even though she knew now from Harry that both dementors and death eaters had been on Hogwarts grounds before.

"That's right," Hermione assures the girl. "Dumbledore is the only thing that You-know-who has ever been afraid of. Hogwarts is the safest place to be right now."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"A giant three headed dog, are you serious?" Danielle looks to her friend in disbelief, "What the heck? Harry is off his rocker! You wouldn't catch me going anywhere near something like that."

"It wasn't his fault he had to go and protect the sorcerer's stone. Nobody would believe him that it was in danger," Tracy laughs at her friend's bewildered face as they made their way through the little town of Hogsmead. "But anyway, the whole time Harry thought it was Professor Snape that was trying to steal the stone but it was actually the defense against the dark arts professor. Get this, you-know-who wanted the stone and possessed the guy to get it for himself."

"I'm surprised Harry hasn't needed therapy yet, honestly" Danielle shakes her head and walks over to look into the window of a Quidditch shop.

"That was just his first year here," Tracy frowns. "The second year was the whole, chamber of secrets business."

"Yeah I remember hearing about that when it happened," Danielle nods her head. "People were getting petrified or something. They almost shut down Hogwarts."

"Muggleborns were getting petrified. Even Hermione was attacked. Ginny almost died!" Tracy grabs her friend's arm and drags her away from the window and over toward a school supply shop.

"Ginny? Ron's sister?" Danielle allows herself to be led away from the Quidditch stuff. She had just been thinking about Abby since Christmas would be coming up soon. "But, the Weasleys are purebloods, right?"

"Yeah, but she was sort of possessed by you-know-who also, I guess" Tracy shrugs, "I didn't really get the whole thing myself. Something about a diary that you-know-who had when he was younger. There was a huge 50 foot long snake that lived in the chamber. Harry killed it single handedly."

"You're joking," Danielle looks at her friend skeptically as they enter the shop, "He was like 12 at the time wasn't he? Are you sure Harry isn't exaggerating to impress you or something?" Tracy blushed.

"What?" She gasps and Danielle lets out a snort.

"Well, it just sounds like he's really building himself up to you by telling you all that stuff," Danielle shrugs innocently.

"He would tell you too if you hung out with us more," Tracy challenges.

"I don't know," Danielle grabs a new pack of quills off a shelf and the two head up to the counter. "You don't think he's stretching the truth about those stories even a little? I mean, can you imagine Abby going up against you-know-who or a giant snake by herself right now? And how is it that he always gets himself into these crazy situations without any teachers finding out?"

"I know it sounds nuts," Tracy agrees, "But Ron and Hermione say it's all true as well." She goes up to the counter first. She uses her Gringotts card to pay for her things before letting Danielle place her new quills on the counter.

"That'll be 15 knuts!" The lady tells her and Danielle hands over her own Gringotts card. This would allow the store to take the money right out of the Emmings vault. It was a new sort of banking that was popular in the states but hadn't quite caught on yet in London. The lady tapped Danielle's card with her wand before frowning.

"Sorry, but the card is indicating that there has been a hold on this account." The lady informed her and Danielle looked confused.

"Why?" Danielle asked feeling annoyed. It was just 15 Knuts for a couple quills for crying out loud.

"It seems somebody tried to withdraw from the account and ended up over drafting," The lady replied. "You'll have to pay with cash until your family has sorted it out with Gringotts."

Danielle couldn't believe it. This wasn't possible. Her family vault should be overflowing with both of her parent's combined family fortunes that had been passed down through the years. There was no way someone could have over drafted.

"Hey Emmings, don't tell me that your father left you without a single galleon to you name when he left!" It was Draco. Danielle swore under her breath. How embarrassing. Why did he have to show up now?

"Do you have the money or not?" The lady behind the counter asked getting irritated. Danielle growled and snatched the quills from the counter top. She didn't have any pocket change on her. She had always been able to use her Gringotts card.

"I've got you," Tracy says, pulling her card back out but Draco pushed her out of the way.

"Allow me," He smirked, snatching the quills from Danielle's hand and throwing them back on the counter. "Put these under Malfoy."

The lady began bagging up the quills and Danielle's face was hot with embarrassment. "Draco, don't!"

"Nonsense, it's nothing really." Draco smirked as the lady handed him a bag with the quills inside. He handed the bag over to Danielle. "15 knuts isn't going to break me. You can just make it up to me later."

"I'd rather die than owe you anything," Danielle narrowed her eyes and shoved the bag out of her face.

"Honestly, you should be thanking me." Draco laughed evilly while holding the bag back towards Danielle. "You need all the help you can get now that you really have been reduced to the likes of a Weasley. Poor, freckle faced, and bad tempered."

"YOU LITTLE…" Danielle's rage was cut off by Tracy who grabbed the bag out of Draco's hands and pushed it into Danielle's.

"Thanks for that Malfoy," Tracy sighs in irritation before pulling Danielle out of the shop.

"Oh, I just want to shove my wand right up his nose and blast his brain!" Danielle growls as they put some distance between themselves and Draco.

"Don't listen to him," Tracy says as they head over to a clothing store that Tracy wanted to check out. "He's probably just feeling extra evil today since all his father's buddies have been busted out of Azkaban." Danielle allowed her anger to dissipate a little so she could think about that. She wondered what it was like for Draco having a death eater as a dad.

"I don't really get why he felt the need to pay for your quills though," Tracy frowns down at the bag clutched in Danielle's hand, "I was more than willing to cover you."

"Isn't it obvious?" Danielle spits as her anger floods back, "he did it to shove his stupid Malfoy power in my face. Every time I use these now I'll just think of him, and how he had money when I didn't. Proof that Malfoys really are better than Emmings'."

"That's not true," Tracy states as they head inside the clothes store. "You are worth more than one hundred of him."

Danielle didn't answer her. She knew that Draco wasn't better than her. It was the fact that Draco now thought he had something to hold over her that pissed her off. So, she spent the rest of the Hogsmead trip following Tracy around and passively helped her pick out clothes. All she wanted to do was get back to the school and write a letter to her mother asking what had happened to all their money. Surely her card was just broken or something.

* * *

Danielle was sitting with her sister, Tracy, and their three Gryffindor friends in the Quidditch stands to watch the first game of the year which put Ravenclaw up against Slytherin. Danielle and Tracy weren't hugely into sports but they were pretty excited to see this. Abby was bouncing in her seat telling Harry and Ron to explain every little thing that happened in the game to her.

"So, are you guys going back to the states for the holidays?" Hermione asks her Ravenclaw friends.

"We're all staying at Hogwarts," Danielle tells her, "All three of us."

"My mom and brother really want me to go home for Christmas though," Tracy says guiltily, "I'm just afraid that if I go, they won't let me come back afterwards."

"Now that there are a bunch of escaped death eaters around, who can blame them," Hermione sighs sadly.

"What are you guys doing?" Danielle then asks as she gestures to Ron and Harry.

"I'm going home to be with my parents," Hermione says, "Ron and harry will be staying at the Weasleys."

"You'll like being here for Christmas though," Harry turns away from the game with a grin. "It's always amazing to see how the professors decorate the great hall."

"And the food!" Ron closes his eyes and breathes in deeply as if he could see and smell it now.

"And the library is always nice and quiet over break too," Hermione tells them happily.

"Yeah, because you're the only one who would ever study during a vacation," Ron rolls his eyes.

"Don't make fun of her for being smart!" Danielle defends the girl, "Why do you think they call her the brightest witch of her age?" Hermione blushes at the praise.

"Whoa! Look at that girl!" Abby suddenly leans over the edge of the stands and points.

"That's Cho Chang," Harry explains with a smile. "She's the Ravenclaw seeker."

"She's bloody good is what she is!" Ron states in admiration.

"What year is she in?" Abby asks eagerly.

"Sixth; same as us," Hermione informs the girl.

"Yeah, I think I remember her," Danielle scrunches her nose and looks up in though.

"She's in our potions class," Tracy tells her. "She's partnered up with Theodore Nott."

"Oh! Right!" Danielle nods her head, "Her."

"Maybe we should make more of an effort to know our house mates Danielle," Tracy then laughs looking embarrassed. "We know the slytherins names better than the people in our own house."

"Well, you know, Harry went out with Cho for a while last year," Hermione smiles slyly over at Tracy who falters a little.

"Wow! Really?" Danielle asks with a laugh, "What happened with that?"

Harry turns around again with a sigh, "She didn't respect the relationship I have with Ron and Hermione. She got jealous all the time. Plus, she was just too clingy for me."

"That'll do it," Danielle replies before gasping and reaching out to pull her sister back into her seat. "Be careful! You're going to end up jumping right out of the stands."

"But Cho's just spotted the snitch!" Abby cheers "Look! Go Cho!"

"Why are you cheering for her?" Tracy asks accusingly even though Cho was from her own house.

"Well, it's either her or Draco," Danielle frowns.

"Actually, from a Gryffindor perspective, we want Malfoy to get the snitch," Harry then tells her. "I'll have to play against whichever team wins this match. I'd rather go against Malfoy than Cho." He notices that Tracy frowns and adds, "Because Malfoy isn't as good as she is." Danielle laughs at her friend who thought Harry had just wanted to avoid going against his ex-girlfriend.

"Well in that case," Abby laughs, "GO MALFOY!" Five pairs of hands reach out and wrap around the girls face and pull her down. Other Gryffindor students that were sitting nearby turned to frown at one of their own cheering for the rival.

"Are you mad?" Ron can't help but laugh too at the girl's gall.

"She's _your_ sister," Tracy shakes her head at Danielle in amusement. Danielle just shrugs and smacks her own forehead.

"Oh no!" Abby then pulls out of her friend's arms and flies to the side of the stands again, "Look!" Danielle and Tracy stand up out of curiosity and see a blur of blue and green zipping around the pitch; chasing something that neither of them could see.

"AH!" Abby then shouts, "She did it! She caught the snitch! Ravenclaw won!"

* * *

The Ravenclaw common room that night was chaos. Apparently winning a Quidditch match automatically meant that there would be a huge party for the house. The common room had never been so full or loud. There were streamers that someone had magically strung up and music was blaring. Everyone was congratulating and slapping their Quidditch team members backs; especially Cho's. Danielle was wondering how she'd never noticed the girl before. Tracy was wishing she hadn't ever noticed her at all. Very early on in the evening she excused herself from the common room to go find her Gryffindor friends.

"Not in your common room celebrating your victory then, Ross?" Tracy turned around to see Draco Malfoy leaned up against the wall staring out of one of the windows that looked out onto the lake.

"A bit too noisy for me, I'm afraid" Tracy tilts her head at Draco curiously. "I can't say that I'm too thrilled that you didn't get that … whatever it is before Cho." Draco narrowed his eyes at the girl suspiciously before turning back to the window.

"Where are your two lackeys?" Tracy asks, noticing the absence of Crabbe and Goyle. In all honesty, Tracy was a bit weirded out about finding Draco standing all alone in the hallway. He wasn't anywhere near the dungeons which is where any Slytherin should be at this time of night.

"What do you care? I don't see you with your pathetic excuse of a tag along either," Draco growls in annoyance and crosses his arms.

"You mean Danielle?" Tracy guesses, "She's in the common room trying to socialize with our other housemates."

"Trying?" Draco asks before shaking his head, "Never mind, I don't care."

"Are you annoyed because you're talking to me or because you lost the game today?" Tracy asks curiously. She'd figured Draco would jump at this opportunity to try to sway her against her friends while she was away from them all.

"Shut up and get lost Ross," Draco then turns and stares irritably at the Ravenclaw girl. Tracy just shrugs. She wondered if the other slytherins were angry with Draco for losing the match and that was why he was hiding up here alone.

"You still have your match against Hufflepuff," Tracy says then. The thought of Draco having any other emotions aside from angry and mean was making Tracy feel like being nice. "If you beat them, you'll still have a chance at the cup right?"

"You just can't leave well enough alone can you?" Draco turns and scowls at Tracy who immediately loses any desire to be nice.

"Alright, good night Malfoy" Tracy turns her back on the boy and continues on her way to the Gryffindor common room.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

"We're gonners!" Danielle roars with rage as she stomps around the common room, waving a letter from her mother around, "We're absolutely done for!"

"She seriously drained your entire vault?" Tracy asks in astonishment as she watches the other Ravenclaws in the room get up and head toward their rooms or the library. They were sending Danielle dirty looks for making such a ruckus as they left.

"For a freaking mansion!" Danielle lets out a sarcastic laugh, "A mansion! Can you believe it?"

"No, are you sure your mother didn't mention anything about wanting to move before?" Tracy questions her pacing friend.

"Yes, I'm sure! But even if she did, don't you think this is a little bit overkill?" Danielle tosses the letter at Tracy, "A MANSION! Does she think that families just acquire fortunes overnight?!"

"You still have your dad though," Tracy suggests. "Maybe you should write to him and see if he'll give you access to his account."

"When my parents were married their accounts were combined!" Danielle shouts angrily, "That's why it's the EMMINGS fortune. And when my dad left, he just took a good chunk and left the rest for us. He knew he could support himself with his apothecaries!"

"You should still write to him," Tracy advises before looking down at her hands. "Jeez though, people don't usually buy bigger houses AFTER their kids have moved away."

"I know! This is bad," Danielle finally plops down into one of the blue chairs and puts her face in her hands.

"Well, your mom seems pretty proud of her choice by the sound of this" Tracy holds up the letter. "She's told you not to worry about anything and that she's working something out. What does that mean?"

"No clue," Danielle confesses as she starts to brainstorm about what to tell her father.

* * *

Tracy and Danielle found Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Abby at the Gryffindor table in the great hall the next day at lunch.

"What's up?" Tracy asks Harry as she plops down next to him and scoops herself some soup.

"Malfoy," Hermione replies as she looks sympathetically over at Danielle. "Something's up with him today. You should keep an eye out."

"Why?" Danielle asks, rolling her eyes at the mention of Draco. She was definitely not in the mood to deal with him right now.

"Well, we're not sure exactly," Ron looked fearful, "but he certainly looked excited about something he'd heard about you while we were in Defense against the dark arts this morning."

Danielle looked over to Tracy in panic. Tracy looked unnerved as well. If Malfoy found out about the Manor, she would never hear the end of it.

"What's going on?" Abby asked after noticing her sister and Tracy looking at each other. "What don't I know?" Danielle only handed her sister the letter that she and Tracy had read through the previous night while in the Ravenclaw common room.

"Oh…" was all Abby could say. She looked as nauseous as Danielle had after reading the letter. She quietly handed the letter over to Ron so he, Harry, and Hermione could read it.

"Speaking of Malfoy," Hermione frowned and nodded toward the Slytherin table. Sure enough, Draco was standing up from his bench and indicating for his two body guards, Crabbe and Goyle, to follow him.

"I'm going to leave before he causes any trouble over here," Danielle says and shakes her head at Tracy who moved to come with her, "No you can finish your lunch. I'll be in the common room when you get back."

She walked as quickly as she could toward the great hall's exit and was thankful when she made it outside. She sighed in relief until she heard someone else move through the door. She turned around.

"My father sent me a letter this morning," Draco smirked with Crabbe and Goyle at his heels, "he's told me the news." Danielle remained silent. "A new manor huh? I'm surprised your mother could afford it seeing as you couldn't even buy yourself a few quills last week or perhaps that's why?"

Danielle turned to walk away but Draco grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. "Don't walk away when I'm talking to you!" Danielle immediately felt furious because he was hurting her. She didn't know how Draco or his father could have even found out about this so soon. She ripped her hand away from him.

"What do you want?" Danielle asked, "I didn't ask for this to happen. Stop looking so pleased with yourself."

"It's wrecked you hasn't it?" Draco grins as if Christmas had just come early. "You really are at Weasley's level now! Oh this is brilliant! I'll bet she thought that having a more expensive home would gain back some of the respect she's lost these past couple years! How pathetic!"

Danielle just stood and watched Draco, hoping he would be done ridiculing her soon. Maybe if she just let him get it all out now he would leave her alone about it for a while.

"What's wrong with you today?" Draco sneered after a moment when it was clear that Danielle wasn't going to argue back.

"I'm pretty sure you've just covered it," Danielle states, "are you done now?"

Draco just looked at her annoyed.

"What do you want me to say?" Danielle sighed, "That you're right? That my name is rubbish? That I'm poor? That you're better than me? Fine. Fine! You, _Malfoy_, are worth much more than I am. I could never, in my wildest dreams, hope to have the money, power, or status that you do."

Danielle turns to walk away but Draco grabs her arm again. "You called me Malfoy, just now."

"So what!" Danielle frowned and yanked her arm out of Draco's grip and walked away for the third time. She went quickly so that he couldn't stop her again. She didn't stop until she was in her common room.

* * *

"Rook to B7," Ron smirks over the chess board at Danielle who crosses her arms in irritation. He had taken her bishop.

"Darn you!" She sighs with a grin as she studies the board.

"Danielle will come back with a vengeance though Ron," Tracy laughs from next to Harry. They were working on homework together while watching their friends play wizards chess. Hermione was sitting with Abby, trying to help her fix up an essay she'd written for Snape. "You better watch out!"

"I know," Ron lets out a nervous laugh. "I think I've finally found a worthy opponent."

"Excuse me?" Harry turns his head and glares at his friend.

"You've never beaten me," Ron lifts an eyebrow at Harry who just shrugs and goes back to his homework. Danielle leans back in her chair and smiles. "Oh bloody hell, here it comes" Ron sighs.

"Knight to F10," She says and Ron watches the board in horror.

"My queen!" He whimpers and Harry bursts out laughing.

"Check," Danielle states before looking to her sister. Ron needed time to plot his next move. "You aren't making Hermione do it for you, are you Abby?"

"No!" Abby shouts defensively.

"She's just really bad at spelling," Hermione lets out a sigh as her eyes dart back and forth down at the parchment.

"So, Harry" Danielle then says hesitantly, "Tracy was telling me about how she might stay here and… fight if things were to get really bad with the you-know-who stuff. Do you think it'll come down to that?"

"It's already come down to that," Harry looks to her seriously. "Voldemort is back." Danielle flinched at the use of the evil guy's name. Tracy had told her before that Harry wasn't afraid to say it but she hadn't really believed it.

"But, you don't think he'll be able to be stopped before he gets too powerful?" Danielle looks to Tracy for some moral support. "Isn't anyone doing anything? I don't know how you'd know… but it just seems like you would… you're Harry Potter." Ron lets out a snort at the logic.

"Well, it's sort of hard to stop him since nobody has been able to do it before," Hermione chimes in. "And, he's not likely to just come out in the open shooting. He's secretive about everything he does."

"Just watch the papers," Ron tells her with a frown. "Look for mysterious deaths and strange accidents. That'll be the death eaters. There are always signs. Foggy weather can be an indicator of dementors too."

"You guys really are experts at this stuff," Danielle feels impressed by her friend's knowledge.

"We've learned from experience, unfortunately" Harry shrugs.

"Sorry if it's weird for me to ask you about stuff like that," Danielle then feels awkward. "I just… I feel like I want to know what's going on."

"I don't mind you asking," Harry tells her with a shrug. "It's good to know at least some people care about what Voldemort's up to."

"The ministry is in denial about everything," Hermione frowns. "The most they're doing right now is sending out aurors to look for those death eaters that escaped."

"You think there might actually be a war then?" Danielle asks feeling a pit in her stomach.

"It seems inevitable that there will have to be a final confrontation with you-know-who at some point," Hermione sighs sadly. "We just need to make sure we are prepared for when it happens."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

Dear Ms. Danielle Emmings,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been cordially invited to the annual Malfoy Christmas Eve Ball. The event will be held at Malfoy Manor on December 24th. Dinner will be served at exactly 7:00pm but we encourage guests to arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 so that they may enjoy the rest of the festivities.

Please RSVP as soon as possible.

We hope that you are well,

Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy

"No freaking way," Danielle was flabbergasted and just started stupidly down at the stiff white card in her hand.

"What is it?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Who's it from?" added Tracy who was going through her mail as well. Danielle could only hand over the invitation to her friends in silence. It was on fancy parchment with the Malfoy seal and everything.

"This must be a joke," Harry decides after reading over the letter. "I bet Malfoy sent it to you so that you'd show up at his house only to have his parents slam the door in your face."

"Yeah, Danielle, you can't go to this!" Ron agrees and then notices Tracy staring at a letter that she had just opened with a look of shock. "What did YOU get?"

"This is from my mom," Tracy tells them, "She says we've received an invitation to the Malfoy's as well!"

"What is Malfoy playing at?" Ron asks angrily before glaring over at the Slytherin table. "His family is barking mad if they think they can get away with doing something like this right after all those death eaters have busted out of Azkaban."

"They will get away with it," Hermione sighs in annoyance. "Don't forget, Malfoy's dad still works inside the ministry! They'll probably have ministry people there! The Malfoy's throw this party every year and it would be even more suspicious if they were to stop now."

"But, why would we be invited?" Tracy asks as she gestures between herself and Danielle.

"Well, it's obvious why you've been invited Tracy," Hermione points out. "Malfoy's been trying to get you in with him and his friends since the start of term. He's probably trying to sway you and your mother to part with those they deem unworthy by having you over for their Christmas Eve ball. I've heard it's quite an extravagant event. The minister himself could possibly be in attendance. I'm not sure why Danielle's been invited though; that is very strange."

"He's probably done it just to rub his family's wealth in my face," Danielle grumbles bitterly. "I wonder if my mom's received an invitation too. This one only has my name specifically on it."

"I'm not sure if she did," Hermione replies honestly. "Tracy didn't get a personalized invitation. This is very peculiar."

"I don't like it," Harry shakes his head. "I don't think either of you should go."

"I'm with you on that," Danielle nods towards the boy. "The Malfoys will just have to suck it up because I am NOT spending my Christmas anywhere near Malfoy."

"Danielle, you've got to go!" Tracy then looks panicked and everyone turns to look at her oddly. She holds up her own letter, "My mother's already accepted the invitation and told the Malfoys we'd go! I can't go without you!"

"What?" Ron gasps, "Why would your mom agree to go?"

"It is sort of odd. My mother was never a huge fan of the Malfoys," Tracy sighs, "She probably just wants to be polite."

"And she probably has decided to come and assess how dangerous it is over here for herself," Hermione replies. "You said before that she didn't really want you over here in the first place."

"That's a good point," Tracy nods. "You're probably right. I hope the Malfoys don't give her an excuse to drag me back home."

"If you have to leave because of Malfoy, I'm going to hex him" Harry promises and Tracy smiles at him appreciatively. Danielle groans and continues to stare at the thin gold cursive writing on her scary invitation.

* * *

"I can't believe I just sent out a letter to Malfoy's parents to tell them I'd come to their house for Christmas," Danielle says with disgust as she watches the owl disappear into the sky.

"I can't believe how gross it smells in here," Tracy pinches her nose as she looks around the owlery which was covered in dead rats, feathers, and owl droppings. "Filtch needs to get in here and do something about this." Danielle laughs and shakes her head as they make their way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

"So, I got a letter back from my dad this morning," Danielle tells her friend after a moment.

"What did he say?" Tracy asks eagerly. Her friend hadn't spoken to her father in quite some time and she was curious as to what he had to say concerning the money issues and the manor.

"Well, nothing very useful," Danielle admits with a shrug. "For some reason he was furious with me and my mom and was complaining about me going off and causing him to have to deal with medieval traditions or something. It was strange… at the end of the letter he asked me if this was what I really wanted."

"If WHAT was what you really wanted?" Tracy asks looking confused.

"I don't know," Danielle throws her arms up with a laugh. "Maybe he meant me going to Hogwarts. I mean, I know it's an old school… but the teaching methods are pretty modern. I don't understand what he's mad about. Well, of course the fact that my mother just spent an entire fortune in one go but, besides that. I don't know."

"Well, I guess you get your temper from him" Tracy teases, "I'm sure he'll cool down some and realize this isn't your fault. He's still just upset about losing his family and everything, you know?"

"Yeah," Danielle nods her head before hesitantly asking, "Do you think there will be any death eaters at the Malfoy's party?"

"Well, obviously if ministry people are going to be there then the Malfoys wouldn't have known you-know-who followers there," Tracy frowns. "But, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some death eaters there that have been able to keep under the radar so far.

"I just don't understand how Malfoy's parents get away with it," Danielle sighs. "If it's so obvious that his dad is a death eater, how come he hasn't been arrested yet?"

"Look, everybody knows that Lucius Malfoy is a death eater. It's just that there hasn't been obvious proof yet. Not that the ministry even looks very hard. The Malfoys make sure to shell out enough money to ensure their name remains clean and respected," Tracy explains with disappointment.

"He pays them off?" Danielle gasps in horror and Tracy nods her head.

"The Malfoys stay rich and stay powerful because they know how to use their money," Tracy continues. "They donate to the right charities and projects and invest in important research areas. The ministry can't afford to put Lucius Malfoy in Azkaban."

"Nice to know we've moved into a magical community with such a corrupt government," Danielle sighs sarcastically. "Oh well, I'll probably just find a closet to hide in at the party so that I won't have to deal with any of them."

* * *

"Why do YOU get to go to Malfoy's party?" Abby frowns at her sister. "How come I didn't get invited? You aren't even friends with him!"

"Can we discuss this later?" Danielle says fighting off her annoyance, "You do realize you aren't going to see Ron for three weeks once he leaves?" They were all in the entrance hall, saying goodbye for the holidays.

"What are we going to do without you Abby?!" Ron laughs as he roughs up the first year's hair.

"We're going to miss you!" Harry agrees slapping her once on the back.

"Well she certainly will be glad to be away from your guy's abuse for the holidays!" Hermione laughs as she shoves the boys out of her way to hug Abby.

"It's going to be so empty here without you three," Danielle says to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Even though she wasn't as close to the trio as Tracy, she still felt sad to see them go. She had gotten used to their presence at meal times and appreciated their opinions and advice about her life.

"We'll be sure to write you guys," Hermione promises.

"Let me know if Malfoy gives you a hard time," Harry tells Tracy, "I'll be sure to hex him once I get back."

"You get in enough trouble as it is;" Tracy laughs, "but I appreciate the sentiment."

"Well… I guess I'll see you after break," Harry says holding his hand out for Tracy to shake. Tracy raises an eyebrow before reaching out and shaking his hand.

"Okay? I think we should go now," Ron says awkwardly and they all exchange a few more good-byes before the three Gryffindors walked away leaving Danielle, Tracy, and Abby alone in the entrance hall with only a few other people who had stayed at Hogwarts for break.

"What's with Harry? The boy who lived… To be socially awkward," Danielle laughs looking over at Tracy. "I think someone has a little crushy poo on you!"

"Ok… now you're being awkward," Tracy laughs and looks down in embarrassment. "You really think he likes me?"

"It's sort of obvious," Danielle tells her seriously. "We all know you like him too, so…"

"What?!" Tracy flushes, "What do you mean 'we all know'?"

"I mean, Ron and Hermione know too," Danielle says with amusement.

"Oh my gosh!" Tracy covers her face, "You guys were talking about me?"

"No," Danielle shrugs. "But I can tell that they know. It's like a silent understanding between us."

"Why do you have to word things to make them sound so weird?" Tracy asks with a laugh.

"Um HELLO?! I'm still here!" Abby waves her arms above her head, "How come I didn't get invited to the Christmas party at Malfoy's?"

"Because you're lucky," Danielle tells her sister seriously. "Do you really want to spend Christmas Eve being ridiculed in front of a bunch of rich people who hate you?"

Abby tilts her head curiously before shrugging, "I can handle Malfoy. And, I've never been to a ball before. It sounds awesome."

"You aren't going," Danielle states firmly. "I don't even know what to expect and I don't want to have to be worried about you the whole time."

"What am I supposed to do while you two are gone though?" Abby asks looking annoyed, "All my friends went home! I'll have to spend Christmas Eve by myself!"

"Oh please," Tracy folds her arms. "I know that you've made more friends than just Ron, Hermione, and Harry. I've seen you running around with all the other little Gryffindor first years and I know some of them are staying over break."

"Yeah, but I still feel left out," Abby says in defeat. Tracy and Danielle just give the girl a pat on the back and tell her she'll be fine for one night.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Danielle and Tracy met Mrs. Ross in Dumbledore's office at 5:00 pm on Christmas Eve. He had given them permission to use his fireplace to floo over to the Malfoy's house.

"What an exquisite gown, Ms. Ross!" The headmaster complimented and Tracy blushed. They had found out that this party was supposed to be extremely formal. Danielle was glad they were legal to drink in Europe.

"Thank you sir," Tracy laughed a little. She and Danielle were both recycling dresses they had worn previously. Malfoy wasn't worth the money, not that Danielle had it anyway.

"I do hope you ladies have a lovely evening," Dumbledore smiles around at them while offering up a bit of Floo powder for each. "The Malfoys must be ecstatic to have such extraordinary witches in attendance at their ball." Danielle searched the Headmaster's face for any hint of sarcasm but couldn't find any. She wondered why Dumbledore was even allowing them to go to this party. Surely he knew that Lucius was a death eater. He didn't look the least bit nervous for his two students though and Danielle wasn't sure how to take this. Even if they weren't in any immediate danger, she was still going to be in a house full of people who hated her.

"Ready?" Tracy's mom then asks and the two girls nod. They wait for Mrs. Ross to go first before they take turns stepping into Dumbledore's fireplace and shouting "Malfoy Manor!"

"Mrs. Ross! How lovely to finally meet you! It's such a pleasure to have you in our home!" A tall elegant looking blonde woman was shaking Tracy's mom's hand while giving her a kiss on the cheek as Tracy and Danielle stepped out from the fireplace. "And this must be Ms. Tracy! Yes Draco has told me all about you!"

Tracy and Danielle exchange knowing looks as the woman grabs Tracy's hand and plants a kiss on her cheek as well.

"And look who they've brought," said a man smirking down at Danielle, "Ms. Emmings."

Danielle swallowed nervously and allowed a forced smile to grow on her face, "Er… hello."

"Hello darling! It's absolutely wonderful to meet you at last. I'm Narcissa and this is Lucius! We're Draco's parents!" The blonde woman smiled enthusiastically before pulling Danielle into a tight hug. Danielle awkwardly hugged back while sending Tracy a look over the woman's shoulder. Tracy looked just as confused as Danielle felt.

"Uh, it's nice to meet you Mrs. Malfoy." Danielle smiled hesitantly again before turning to Lucius, "And you Mr. Malfoy." She held out her hand to the man. He looked down at it with a hint of a sneer for a moment before quickly grabbing her hand, shaking it once, and pulling away. Danielle tried not to think about the fact that this guy was a death eater, and therefore, a murderer.

"Feel free to mingle with the rest of the guests," Mrs. Malfoy smiled, "We'll be able to catch up a bit more once Lucius and I have finished welcoming everyone! Draco should be around here somewhere. I'm sure you'll find him."

Mrs. Ross immediately gets pulled into a conversation with a bunch of adults. They were all eager to meet one of the more well known American purebloods and ask all about Josh and everything he had done.

"You know, I never doubted Josh's greatness or anything, but I AM surprised that people over here know him so well," Danielle admits as she and Tracy head over towards a table containing beverages and snacks.

"You've got to be kidding me! Who invited you?"

"There's the reaction I was initially expecting," Danielle says warily watching Malfoy stalk up with Blaise Zabini.

"Tracy, so glad you could make it." Draco smirks, grabs Tracy's hand, and kisses the top of it. Tracy frowns and yanks her hand away, "Sure."

"So, Emmings, why ARE you here?" Blaise asks raising an eyebrow.

"Why indeed!" Draco looks to Danielle with a sneer.

"I was invited, Malfoy, Obviously," Danielle states, trying to look more confident than she actually felt. Draco pulled a face.

"My parents wouldn't invite YOU," He says with disgust.

"Well, they did," Tracy defends, "in fact; she got a personal invitation sent right to Hogwarts." Draco's anger faded into confusion for a moment. He shook it off quickly though.

"They must have felt sorry for you then," Draco frowned directly at Danielle, "but you didn't have to accept it you know. Of course, it probably makes you feel important being here. But believe me; I'll make sure everyone knows you're just using this party to get a free meal."

With that, Malfoy stomped off with Blaise following behind. He went over to where Theodore Nott and Crabbe and Goyle were standing before they all disappeared into the crowd of people. Danielle decided not to eat at all while at the party so people didn't think she was here to scavenge food.

"Well, at least his mother seems to like you" Tracy says with a small laugh. Danielle rolled her eyes. She didn't want any of the Malfoys to like her. That was weird. "Well," Tracy goes on after a moment. "We mind as well look around while we're here." Danielle agrees and the two set off to have a look around the manor. They were shocked with how large and fancy it really was. It was dark and looming but also beautiful. Above them were large crystal chandeliers and below them was dark, polished marble floors. The hallways were lined with gorgeous paintings and expensive ornaments.

"This is… amazing," Danielle can't help but look around in awe. "Malfoy actually grew up here. No wonder he's so snooty."

"It's incredible," Tracy agrees as she runs her fingers over one of the dark smooth banisters. "But I think I'd hate to live here."

"Yeah, it's pretty gloomy," Danielle nods her head before looking out one of the large windows. "Let's go look at the gardens." They head out and find that even though it was winter, the Malfoy's property was breath taking. Danielle and Tracy followed along the path that weaved through frost covered trees and bushes until they came to a large lit up fountain.

"Aren't you two cold out here in just your dresses?" Danielle and Tracy look over and see Blaise Zabini sitting on the other side of the fountain on a wooden bench. The two girls walk over so that they can see him properly.

"A little bit," Tracy admits to her potions partner. "Why aren't you with the others anymore?"

"Malfoy and his Father had something to do after everyone got here," Blaise shrugs. "And I didn't feel like following Nott around or watching Crabbe and Goyle stuff their faces before dinner was even served."

"Seriously, I don't understand how those two made it to their sixth year at Hogwarts. Together they don't even make up half of a brain," Tracy shakes her head in amusement. Blaise lets out a laugh and Danielle is shocked by the genuine smile that takes over his face. She'd never seen a Slytherin smile before, at least not like this; with no malice or ill intent behind it. It made the boy look strikingly more handsome than his usual smirk or frown did. She didn't have much time to admire this though because there was suddenly a tall skinny girl with short black hair and extremely tan skin stomping up to her.

*SMACK!*

Danielle's hand flew to her cheek, mouth open in shock. She immediately felt her temper flare and her blood boil. She narrowed her eyes and stood up taller, ready to brawl. Screw her wand!

"Pansy!?" Blaise gasps and quickly flies off the bench he was sitting on and puts himself between the two girls.

"Get out of my way Zabini!" The girl called Pansy shrieks angrily while glaring at Danielle, "You whore! I can't believe you!"

Tracy was too shocked to say anything and Danielle looked like a storm was brewing in her eyes. It was taking every ounce of her will power not to launch herself at the girl who had smacked her.

"Pansy… what is wrong with you?" Blaise hisses, grabbing the girl by her shoulders to turn her away from Danielle. "This isn't the time or place!"

"She's gone behind everyone's back to steal Draco!" Pansy snaps before eyeing Danielle viciously, "You can't have him! You're just after his money! I know about your family's situation!"

"WHAT?!" Danielle suddenly bellows stepping around Blaise so that she was right in Pansy's face, "Steal Malfoy? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Don't play stupid!" Pansy puts her hands on her hips, "Is this why you moved over here, then; to try and win Draco for yourself so you could use him to put you and your family's respect back together? Don't lie!"

Danielle let out a sarcastic laugh, "As if he's worth that much effort. Malfoy probably made that rumor up himself, trying to make himself look cool or something. If you want him, you can have him."

"I said not to lie!" Pansy growled poking Danielle hard in the shoulder. Danielle's face turned murderous.

"I don't know where you're getting your information but I promise, if you ever lay another hand on me, you'll regret it," Danielle was staring, unblinking, at Pansy with so much anger that the lights around the fountain started to flicker a little. Tracy and Blaise were even starting to feel afraid.

"What is this?" Mrs. Malfoy came around the fountain then looking concerned at finding Danielle and Pansy toe to toe and red with fury.

"Nothing Lady Malfoy," Pansy turned around with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face and curtsied, "But I do wonder if you've made the right choice in inviting someone like HER here."

"Well Ms. Parkinson, I assure you that who I've invited is none of your concern." Mrs. Malfoy said sternly.

"Of course Mrs. Malfoy, you are right, naturally." Pansy's voice was fake and girly. It made Danielle and Tracy want to gag.

"Indeed," Mrs. Malfoy continued to look sternly at the girl for a moment before turning to the others. "Dinner will be served shortly. Blaise, would you be kind enough to escort Ms. Ross to the dining hall?"

"Yes, of course ma'am" Blaise bowed slightly before taking Tracy's arm in his and leading her out of the garden. Tracy was alarmed at leaving Danielle behind but Blaise only pulled her along harder when she tried to look back.

"its best just to do what she says," Blaise says stiffly, "Your friend will be fine."

"Ms. Parkinson, I have Theo waiting inside to escort you as well." Mrs. Malfoy continued as Blaise and Tracy walked away. Pansy glared at Danielle before nodding at Mrs. Malfoy and leaving as well. Danielle didn't want to be alone with Malfoy's mom. She also didn't like Tracy being taken away by a Slytherin. She wished she would have just hid inside a closet like she had planned before. Her cheek still stung from being slapped but Danielle refused to baby herself by massaging her face in front of this woman. She was certain that Mrs. Malfoy was about to lecture her for fighting with Pansy anyway. To her surprise though, Mrs. Malfoy smiled warmly at her.

"Ms. Emmings, I do apologize for Ms. Parkinson's behavior. I do hope you won't let this ruin your evening" Mrs. Malfoy looked anxiously at Danielle with her perfectly arched eyebrows raised. Danielle wondered how much time Draco's mom spent on just her face alone. This woman looked like a porcelain doll with her pale skin and high cheek bones.

"Oh, uh no, of course not" Danielle tells her. Of course Pansy hadn't ruined her evening. Being at the Malfoy's on Christmas Eve was what had done it.

"Thank goodness," the woman smiled then. "Now, if you'd just follow me. There's just one more thing I need to take care of."

"Uh, sure… Mrs. Malfoy." Danielle jerked her head down quickly, hoping it would be enough to count for a bow or curtsy.

"Please, call me Narcissa." The woman smiled before linking arms with Danielle and guiding her out of the gardens. Danielle was beyond speechless. Draco's mom was acting suspiciously nice to her. And now, Tracy wasn't there to be her back up in case something happened. Danielle was alone with a death eater's wife. That fact alone was rather alarming. Danielle wondered if she should fish her wand out of her purse just in case she found herself with the need to defend her life. Once inside, Mrs. Malfoy led her away from where everybody was lining up for dinner and up a staircase.

"Aren't we…?" Danielle pointed behind her back feeling pretty terrified now. Why was this woman leading her away from all the guests? Something really bad was going to happen tonight, Danielle could feel it. Scenarios involving unforgiveable curses ran through her mind.

"Not to worry dear, we'll be back in time for dinner." Mrs. Malfoy tried to comfort the girl as they continued down a hall. The voices in the entrance hall were fading away now. Danielle wondered if she was going to be put under the imperious curse and forced to do something embarrassing at dinner. After a few more turns and hallways, they stopped outside a door and Mrs. Malfoy knocked.

"You may enter," A voice that Danielle recognized as Lucius Malfoy's came through the door. They entered and Danielle took in the sight of the room. It was an office and Lucius was sitting behind a large mahogany desk which was in front of a wall full of matching book shelves. Draco was sitting in one of the two large chairs in front of the desk, facing away from her. In the corner was a couch on which was…

"MOM?!" Danielle felt as though she had been smacked again. Her mother was sitting there looking a little nervous.

"Ms. Emmings, please sit." Lucius spoke indicating the empty seat next to Draco. Danielle sent a quick look of dislike over at her potions partner before sitting down next to him. Mrs. Malfoy walked over and sat in a chair next to her husband. Danielle could not get over the fact that her mother was here, in England, and at Malfoy Manor no less. Why would the Malfoys even invite her here? Wasn't she just as much of an embarrassment to them as Danielle was?

"What's up with your face? Mom, did you hit her?" Draco asked his mother looking delighted.

"It was your girlfriend, Pansy," Danielle snapped before quickly smiling politely at Mrs. Malfoy, hoping she hadn't upset the woman by answering for her. Nobody spoke for a moment.

"Anyway, we wanted to talk to the two of you in private before going to dinner." Lucius spoke finally, eyeing Danielle and his son. Danielle turned and shot a look of pure loathing at Draco. He responded with a hateful glare of his own. "Ms. Emmings, Narcissa and I have recently been in contact with your parents, proposing an arrangement that might benefit both of our families."

Danielle cringed at the mere thought of Draco's parents corresponding with her own. She wondered if this was what her father had been so annoyed about in his letter. 'Medieval traditions' was what he had said. Well, Danielle had heard that the Malfoy's were pretty ancient in their beliefs and traditions. At least that made sense now. But then again, Danielle's father hadn't sounded like he was getting any benefits at all from whatever plan Lucius Malfoy was suggesting.

"As you know, your family has recently lost some of its former glory due to your mother and father's divorce," Lucius paused and Draco smirked mockingly over at Danielle who fought the urge to flick him off. "Narcissa and I have agreed to help build your family back up on several conditions." Danielle felt her stomach knot and she looked to her mother in horror but the woman wouldn't meet her daughter's eyes. She obviously wasn't happy about whatever these conditions were. Danielle wondered why her mother had agreed to do anything with the Malfoys in the first place. Maybe Draco's parents had threatened her. Danielle's grip on the arms of the chair tightened with fury at the very idea.

"First," Lucius went on; ignoring the panic and anger that was obviously rising in his son's classmate, "we asked that Mrs. Emmings move into a more socially accepted residence for a family of high society." Danielle felt a huge wave of anger wash over her. It was Malfoy's parents' fault that she was now dirt poor. "We agreed to buy the old house off Mrs. Emmings to help offset some of the financial strain that one sometimes encounters after buying a new home."

Danielle wanted to shout at her mother for letting herself be talked into this. There was no way that she'd come up with this on her own. Danielle knew her mother could care less about the Emmings name's lost glory. No normal person would think going into debt was worth a little bit of respect or popularity. Danielle wished her mom would have consulted with her first before making any decisions with the Malfoys. There was no way the money that the Malfoy's paid for her old house would even put a dent into what the manor cost. And what role had Danielle's father played in all of this?

"Of course, moving into a manor won't do much for the Emmings name." Lucius went on, "Which is why Narcissa and I have agreed on one other arrangement that should be extremely helpful."

Draco looked up at his father then as if he'd just realized something; panic was beginning to break through his previously emotionless face. Danielle was a bit worried about whatever this last 'arrangement' was as well. What could a couple of death eater's ask of her family that would help remove some of the dirt from the Emmings name?

"Draco, after dinner tonight, you will be announcing your engagement to Ms. Emmings!" Narcissa smiled down at her son, tears in her eyes.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

All anger flushed from Danielle in an instant and was replaced with pure despair. She felt her stomach twist uncomfortably. And even though what Mrs. Malfoy had just said was fairly easy to comprehend, Danielle's mind was reeling to try and keep up and understand.

"Mother…" Draco looked ready to explode. "You can't be serious!"

Danielle, for once, agreed with Draco. This couldn't be real. Surely her mother wouldn't agree to this. Nobody would agree to this… well, apparently Pansy Parkinson would but… she obviously wasn't really normal.

"Son, Ms. Emmings' father has agreed to give me a hefty share of his growing apothecary chain. It is too good an investment to pass up! Mr. Emmings's business is becoming rapidly successful and associating the Malfoy name with it will get our foot in the door for a whole lot of other great opportunities in the states!" Lucius looked extremely pleased at this news. It only made Danielle feel sicker. No wonder her father was so upset with her. But why had he agreed to it at all? Surely her father wouldn't want to arrange his daughter to marry someone as awful as Draco Malfoy. Danielle didn't see what her father was even getting out of this deal. He was selling off his daughter AND giving away part of his business' profit. There was no way he was doing it just for the publicity he'd get for associating with Lucius Malfoy.

"Mom?" Danielle spoke at last. "I can't believe… you and dad really agreed to this?"

"Honey, I was under the impression that you_ liked_ the Malfoy's son!" Mrs. Emmings spoke quickly and her eyes darted from her daughter to the Malfoys quickly. "And I thought by helping you into their family, I'd secure you a great future! They told me how important the Malfoy name was in the wizarding world; you'll be practically royalty. The influence you'll have in London, and all over the world. I thought you'd be happy."

"You told your mom you LIKED me?" Draco looked absolutely livid at this.

"NO! I didn't!" Danielle snaps in disgust before turning back to her mother, "Mom, I DON'T like him. Quite the opposite really; I…"

"Enough," Lucius spoke and everyone got quiet instantly.

"The two of you do not seem to understand the brilliance of this match," Narcissa pipes in looking strict. "Draco, we would have never gotten this much from any of the other suitable girls in Great Britain. Not even from the Parkinsons or the Greengrass'. And Ms. Emmings will likely find herself much more agreeable to this arrangement once she sees firsthand how much she is going to gain from it as well."

"I don't want your name or your money!" Danielle says defensively but manages to keep her voice down. Screaming in a death eater's face was probably a bad idea. "I don't care about being practically royalty. I'm not doing this!"

"Danielle, I've already sold the house. And your father's already made the agreement with Lucius as well," Danielle's mother chimes in quietly now. "If you refuse, we'll have done it all for nothing." Danielle grits her teeth and lets her face fall into her hands. And Mrs. Malfoy had worried about Pansy ruining her night. This was probably the worst possible thing that could have happened. Why had her mother thought that she liked Draco? Danielle hadn't even written to her mother except to ask about their empty bank account. Danielle wondered if her mother even knew that she had just arranged for her daughter to marry into a family of death eaters.

"She'll come around!" Narcissa says though she didn't look very confident, "She's just shocked!"

"Perhaps we should discuss this just a little more before going any further," Draco suggests, his eyes pleading silently to his mother and father to change their minds. He hadn't looked at Danielle since his mother announced the news. Danielle didn't want to look at him either. No way. She hoped that his pleading eyes would sway his parents though.

"The choice has been made, son." Lucius says firmly and stands up to head for the door. "And the decision is final. Now come along, you must escort Ms. Emmings down to dinner before we are late."

Lucius took Narcissa's arm and Danielle's mother got up to follow them. Danielle wished she'd stay behind so that they could talk in private for a moment. She walked right past Danielle and Draco though and went out the door. The Malfoy's gave the two a warning glare to make sure they followed. Draco roughly grabbed Danielle's arm and pulled her toward the door without looking at her.

"I didn't know about this," Danielle whispered up at him quickly. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to tell him that. Surely it wasn't more important than the next thing she said to him. "I'm not marrying you!"

Draco slowed down to allow their parents to get a little further ahead before answering her. "I know. I'm going to try to talk my parents out of announcing anything tonight. That will give me more time to get them to reconsider." He still wouldn't meet Danielle's eyes. Danielle didn't care though; she only hoped he would be able to convince his parents to wait. Draco slowed down his pace once more before speaking again. "You should know that if I fail to convince them and we do announce we are engaged, you'll have to pretend to be happy about it."

"No!" Danielle hissed quietly so their parents wouldn't hear, "I'm 17 years old! I don't have to marry you if I don't want to!"

"I'm 17 as well," Draco growls down at her. "But we still don't have a choice. If you refuse me in front of everyone down there… your life is going to become extremely miserable."

"Is that a threat?" Danielle asks angrily.

"No, it's a fact!" Draco snaps, "Do you know what kind of people are at this party?"

"Ministry people?" Danielle answers.

"And?" Draco urges her to continue.

"Death eaters?" Danielle asks so quietly she wondered if Draco had even heard her. Her worst fears were confirmed though by the boy's slight pause.

"My father has a reputation to keep up with ALL the guests here tonight," Draco explains to her. "If you mess it up, he will not be happy. Nobody turns down a Malfoy."

"Of for gosh sakes, you people need to get your heads out of your…"

"Just act happy about it!" Draco interrupts her, getting louder out of urgency since they were at the entrance to the dining hall. "We'll come up with a way to get out of it afterwards."

"This is mad," Danielle groans and finally looks up to meet Draco's eyes, "Please just talk them out of it before dinner is over so that we can avoid this whole thing completely."

"I'm going to try my best," Draco promises before standing up tall and putting on his arrogant I'm-better-than-all-of-you rich boy face before pushing through the doors.

When Danielle entered the room on Draco's arm she was met by about a hundred pairs of eyes on her. There were mixed expressions. Some people looked absolutely ecstatic, some looked positively furious, and some seemed completely confused. Draco led Danielle to the two empty seats between Narcissa and Danielle's mother. Danielle immediately looked down the table to where Tracy was sitting awkwardly between Blaise and Pansy. The two best friends began trying to communicate with their eyes. It wasn't too difficult considering the situation.

Tracy obviously wanted to know what the hell was going on. Danielle shrugged and made it clear that it was nothing to be happy about. Tracy frowned and rolled her eyes. She had already figured out that much. Maybe eye communication wasn't that easy after all. Pansy's message, however, was coming across loud and clear. She was glaring furiously at Danielle and her hands were clutching the table hard. Danielle wondered how she had known about this before her or Draco had.

"I would like to welcome you all again to our home," Lucius announced from the head of the very large table. "We strive every year to make each Malfoy Christmas Eve Ball bigger and better than the last. We hope you've all enjoyed yourselves thus far. And now, let us eat!"

At once, tons of house elves appeared, placing mounds of food onto the table in front of the guests. Danielle eagerly went to grab a hot roll but changed her mind after noticing several glares from Theodore Nott and Crabbe and Goyle that made her remember what Draco had told her earlier about her being here just for the food. She decided to only take a little salad while everyone else filled up their plates. Everyone at the table seemed to be having a great time, eating and chatting with all the other guests. Tracy kept trying to mouth questions to Danielle from across the table but reading lips was not something Danielle was strong at. She also had to be careful because Pansy was keeping a close eye on her. Draco kept whispering furiously to his mother, gesticulating more as his pleading intensified.

Danielle had the impression that Draco was spoiled and that his parent's had probably never refused him anything. She was clutching to this assumption, hoping it would get her out of a very undesirable situation. Unfortunately, Draco continued his conversation with his mother, getting more and more frantic as people began finishing up their dessert. Danielle was becoming thankful that she hadn't eaten much because her stomach began knotting up as she watched Lucius nod to his wife before clearing his throat and standing up. She looked to Draco next to her who looked much paler than usual. He grits his teeth and shakes his head, still without looking at her, to indicate that he had failed to convince his parents. She noticed Narcissa shove something into Draco's lap. He squeezed his eyes shut as if he were in pain. Probably mental pain, Danielle was feeling it too.

"I hope that everyone has enjoyed their dinner," Lucius nodded to random people along the table. "Before we head to the ball room, I'd like to take this time to make an announcement."

Danielle felt tears burning behind her eyes. She didn't cry easily but this was too much for her to deal with. She was angry! Furious! And most of all, terrified! Every muscle in her body was clenched in stress and her stomach was wrenching dangerously due to her nerves.

"Draco." Lucius nodded to his son and Danielle felt her heart pounding loud inside her chest. Maybe she would have a heart attack! Yes! That would be the perfect excuse to put this off! Draco pushed his chair back and stood up. Danielle couldn't help but give him props for being able to handle this so well. It was obvious that he hated this just as much as she did, yet he was completely composed and hid his feelings well. His mother was smiling up at him with tears in her eyes. Danielle refused to look at her own mother or Tracy because then she might cry too, but for a very different reason. Instead she glanced over at Pansy who looked livid. Well, even if Danielle got engaged to Draco, Pansy probably wouldn't let her survive long enough to actually marry him. That was a hopeful thought.

Danielle chanced a look up at Draco then. She almost died of shock. He was smiling down at her. Really smiling, like Blaise had earlier in the garden. He reached down and pulled her up so she was standing too. No, this wasn't fun. Danielle had hoped Draco would just shout it out and sit back down. This standing up was causing people to stare more intently at them. Then, Draco got down on one knee. Danielle literally gagged. What was this? He was just supposed to tell everyone. There was no way this was happening. He looked up and grabbed her hands with his. Danielle wanted to just throw her head back and scream as loud as she could to relieve herself of some of the tension she was feeling. It was unbearable. How could Draco hide his misery so easily? This was a huge deal. Was he just used to being in terrible situations where he had to hide his feelings? That was sort of sad if it were true. Danielle's hoped it wasn't. Now her brain was going into denial and trying to think about anything besides what was really happening. She shook her head and looked back at Draco. He was still smiling. She was supposed to be smiling too she supposed. She tried but could only muster a grimace.

"Danielle," Draco then spoke and Danielle felt bile rising up in her throat; this was really happening. She only nodded so that he would get it over with. "You are truly the most … er… interesting and" Draco paused to think "unique person I've ever met. It would be the greatest honor if you would agree to marry me and become the next Mrs. Malfoy."

Draco reached behind him and pulled out the small box his mother had handed to him only moments ago and flipped it open in front of her to reveal a bright silver band with a sparkling green emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds. Danielle couldn't bear the sight and finally turned to look at Tracy whose mouth was wide open in shock. She was shaking her head trying to tell Danielle to say no and run! Danielle turned back to look at Draco who began speaking again. "So, will you agree to be my wife?"

Danielle wasn't sure if she could answer. She was 17 years old. Hell no she didn't want to be anybody's wife. The word alone caused Danielle to cringe involuntarily. She opened her mouth to see if she could even respond and managed to whimper, "yeah." She knew it sounded forced. Draco raised his eyebrows at her and Danielle was surprised to feel his hand squeeze tighter around her own; not painfully but just enough pressure to give her a little boost of confidence. Danielle closed her eyes and took a deep breath before letting a smile grow on her face. "Yes! Of course!" Draco took what was obviously the family ring out of the box and slid it onto Danielle's finger. It magically expanded to fit her. She stared down at her hand trying to look happy instead of disgusted. Draco finally stood back up and she looked at him not really knowing what to do next. Without warning he grabbed her face and kissed her quickly. People started clapping but stopped when Danielle pushed away from him, pissed.

"WHY!?" She started to shout but remembered her 'role.' Draco glared at her. "Uh.. why you!" Danielle repeated only with less anger. She smiled again, "You caught me off guard with that one!" Draco closed his eyes as he let out a sigh and shook his head looking slightly amused. Danielle laughed a little too. This was so messed up. Lucius stood back up looking like he had been holding his breath during that whole thing.

"Well, you all may make your way into the ball room now." Lucius announced and people immediately began flooding across the room, eager to gossip about what had just happened.

"I didn't know you were going to freaking purpose to me!" Danielle hissed at Draco once people were too distracted to notice.

"I didn't know either until my mother shoved the ring into my lap!" He snapped back. Danielle turned around, ready to walk out, but came face to face with Tracy.

"What the crap?" she asked looking extremely shocked.

"I… "Danielle tried to think of a way to explain everything to her friend but was feeling too overwhelmed at the moment. "I'll explain later… I can't even think right now."

"Congratulations Danielle!" Mrs. Ross came up and hugged her but seemed unsure. "I didn't even know you were going out with anyone."

"I wasn't." Danielle states bluntly. Draco glared at her.

"Oh… sorry?" Mrs. Ross says hesitantly. She looked worried about her daughter's best friend being engaged to a Malfoy. "Is everything alright?"

"Tracy will tell you the whole story later," Danielle tells her, "Once she knows."

"By the way," Danielle turned to face Draco, "Why in Merlin's name did you feel that it was ok to put your foul mouth on mine!?"

Tracy mumbled a "see you in the ball room" before walking away with her mother.

"It seemed like something that would realistically happen!" Draco shouts, looking a little embarrassed. "It's not like YOU were doing anything to look convincing!"

"Ok! You're right! I'm sorry for yelling at you," Danielle says honestly, "We shouldn't be fighting with each other."

"Ok… now you're taking your act too seriously." Draco frowned looking freaked out for a second.

"I only meant that we're taking our anger out on each other when this is neither of our faults. Neither of us knew this was going to happen. We're going to have to pretend to get along for tonight but after that we need to figure out a way to get out of this," Danielle tried to be calm and not think about the huge rock weighing her left hand down.

"I guess you're right," Draco looked annoyed at having to admit that but Danielle was too busy chasing after a house elf that was clearing away the table. She took the last roll out of the basket the elf was carrying and bit into it. Draco looked disturbed.

"This, however, IS your fault." Danielle states waving the roll in the air, "I wouldn't be starving right now if you hadn't said that thing about me only being here for food!"

"Whatever." Draco grunts before grabbing Danielle's arm again and walking her into the ball room.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Malfoy, seriously mate, HER?" Theodore Nott was the first to approach Danielle and Draco in the ball room. If it weren't for the terrible situation, Danielle would have marveled at the room. It was very open and was a lot more cheerful looking than the rest of the house. The white intricately carved walls were adorned with wreaths and holiday lights. The room was lined along the edges with little chairs for people to sit and there were several large, beautifully decorated Christmas trees in the corners. Above her head were three more, gigantic, glittering chandeliers. There were couples dancing together happily in the center of the room as beautiful instrumental music filled the air.

"Yeah Malfoy, what gives?" Goyle grunts as he walks up with his moronic counterpart and Blaise Zabini. "You can't marry her! She's a blood traitor!"

"I'm right here!" Danielle snaps at the boy and has to hold herself back form tackling him to the ground and using him as a punching bag just to burn off some of her anger.

"You could do worse though," Blaise eyes his friend seriously. "I mean, you could have ended up with Parkinson."

"Shut up Zabini!" Draco growls before roughly pulling Danielle from his friends and storming off to the other side of the room. As they stood in the back corner, almost everyone came up to them and congratulated them and wished them well. Even the minister of magic had come up to shake Danielle's hand. She wasn't that impressed though. This was, of course, the guy who'd been telling the public that Dumbledore and Harry were crazies that made up lies all the time just for kicks.

"So, what's with Pansy anyway?" Danielle asks Draco once they get a moment of peace. She was coming to the realization that she wasn't allowed to leave Draco's side since he sort of had a death grip on her arm. So, she decided to make polite conversation so that they weren't just standing there in awkward silence.

"What do you mean?" He looks down at her impatiently.

"I mean, are you dating her or something?" Danielle asks curiously, "She's positively fuming about all of this. I think she's even more upset than we are." They both looked over to the girl who was sitting along the wall with a couple other girls that Danielle knew were also slytherins. She looked to be talking angrily while sending a glare over at Danielle and Draco every once in a while.

"No, I'm not dating her" Draco curls his lip in utter disgust, "She's just been trying to secure the title of Lady Malfoy for herself since she was old enough to think. It was practically her main purpose in life." Danielle raised her eyebrows skeptically.

"You aren't that full of yourself, are you?" she asks. "You can't possibly believe that."

"You think rich pureblood Slytherin girls go to Hogwarts for an education?" Draco asks her with an annoying smirk. Danielle just tilts her head in confusion so that he'll continue. "The only thing the girls in my house go to school to do is to land themselves a husband."

"I don't believe you," Danielle automatically responds.

"You think Pansy's going to ever have a job; that she's ever going to work?" Draco lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Even if she never married she wouldn't have to. The Parkinson's are loaded."

"You're serious?" Danielle can't help but cave a little. Why would Draco make this up?

"My mother went to Hogwarts as well," Draco gestures to Narcissa who was smiling and chatting up several other women back towards the entrance. "But she's never put a bit of it to use. She married my father a few months after she graduated and hasn't done a day of work since."

"That's just degrading! You people treat women as if they were…"

"Investments?" Draco offers, "Yes, that's what they are."

"You … can't really… why do they put up with it?" Danielle was beside herself with shock, "Why does Pansy even want you? You're not even going to care about her."

"It's how they're raised, Emmings" Draco sounds like he's getting bored with the topic now. "They don't expect to be cared for. Just as long as they have a good name and a big bank account they're happy."

"That's despicable," Danielle declares and turns away from Draco a little so convey her irritation.

"It's the truth," Draco sighs and waves his hand around the room. "Take a look around. It's not just idle chit chat. It's always a competition. Who has the most attractive wife, richest husband, largest home, you name it. The pureblood society is a very structured endless cycle of tradition."

"You sound thrilled to be a part of it," Danielle sarcastically points out. Draco narrows his eyes and sends a glare at her.

"I am!" He snarls dangerously, "I'm at the top!"

"How could you possibly be at the top of a circle?" Danielle challenges, "Thank goodness this little engagement business isn't permanent. Life with you would be the most boring thing imaginable."

"I doubt living with you would be any more pleasant," Draco huffs. "At least Pansy would keep her mouth shut and do what she's told."

"Oh please!" Danielle snorts, "She'd be your perfect little wife and keep you happy for about a day before you realize you aren't being fulfilled. You'll have to go off and look elsewhere for the mental stimulation you need."

"What exactly are you implying Emmings?" Draco's grip tightened around Danielle's arm but she just smiles.

"You wouldn't be satisfied with someone who caters to your every whim," Danielle states confidently. "You like arguing with people too much." Draco just lets out a growl then and Danielle shakes her head. As fun as this bickering was, Danielle really just wished she could have some time to talk to her mother in private.

"Ah, look" Draco then grins victoriously as he points to the center of the room, "Ross's finally showing some of that Ravenclaw intelligence." Danielle looked over to her friend who was being led around the dance floor by Blaise Zabini. Danielle almost laughed at the look of terror on Tracy's face. She had no idea how to dance to this sort of music. Blaise seemed fairly decent though.

"Zabini has some smooth moves," Danielle says in intrigue causing Draco to let out a growl again from next to her. "If only he smiled more."

"Zabini has two left feet!" He snaps, "And why would he smile more? What are you even talking about?"

"I just can't do anything right, can I?" Danielle asks with a sigh as Lucius Malfoy walked up.

"Son, are you going to dance with your fiancée sometime this year?" He snaps angrily "The guests are starting to ask questions." Then he stormed off. Danielle turned to Draco and let out an exaggerated gasp before covering her face with her hands.

"Oh no! Malfoy and his fake love interest aren't dancing?! Our whole delicate pureblood structure is going to be thrown off balance and crumble to the ground! Whatever are we going to do?!" Danielle lets out a laugh at her own ridiculousness. The pressure was definitely starting to get to her.

"Just come on," Draco growls as he drags Danielle with him out into the middle of the room.

* * *

"Lady Malfoy! Wake up! It's Christmas!"

Danielle groaned and opened her eyes to see her best friend hovering over her with a huge smile. "Don't call me that," Danielle mumbles as she pushes herself up out of her bed and blinks a few times so that she could wake up fully. She looked down at her hand and all the nausea from the previous night seemed to rush back. The ring was still there, darn. She tried to tug it off but it wouldn't budge.

"It wouldn't come off last night either," Tracy says as she hands Danielle one of the gifts that were sitting at the foot of her bed. "The ring probably has lots of old magic connected to it. Probably dark, knowing the Malfoys."

"This is from Ron, Hermione, and Harry!" Danielle changes the subject after reading the tag on the gift. She hadn't expected anything from her Gryffindor friends. She ripped the paper off and found it was a box containing a mixture of muggle and wizard candy.

"I got some too," Tracy smiles before a blush creeps onto her face. "Of course, Harry sent me a little something extra."

"Uh oh! Now he's the boy who plays favorites?" Danielle laughs as Tracy holds out her arm to reveal a gold dangly bracelet. "Nice, what is poor Blaise going to say?" Tracy clicks her tongue in annoyance and shoves her friend lightly in the arm.

"He just asked me to dance since nobody else was obviously going to do it," Tracy explains, "He told me that a true gentleman would never let his potions partner sit through a ball without being asked to dance at least once."

Danielle cocked an eyebrow at her friend, "How suave."

"Oh whatever," Tracy shrugs and points to Danielle's gifts, "I see you didn't get anything from the hub-town." Tracy had started with the engagement to Malfoy jokes during the ball the previous night. Danielle didn't mind them since it made her feel a little better about the situation. It let her look at the whole thing on a lighter note. She just hoped Draco would be able to get his parents to call if off before news spread too far.

"What a jerk," Danielle pretends to be pissed, "I was expecting the key to my new island vacation home too." Tracy burst out laughing and Danielle felt proud of her joke telling skills. The two finished opening their gifts from family and friends before heading down to the great hall for breakfast.

"Is that peanut butter captain crunch?" Danielle asks excitedly when she sits next to her sister at the Gryffindor table.

"Merry Christmas to you too," Abby shakes her head with a laugh. "And yeah, mom sent it to me. She knows we don't have muggle food here and thought we might be craving."

"Your gift was better than mine at least," Danielle snatches up the yellow cereal box and pours herself a bowl.

"What did you get?" Abby asks curiously and Danielle holds up her left hand.

"A fiancé," was the reply. Abby's mouth dropped open in shock.

"What? You're just messing with me!" Abby decides and crosses her arms, "Who actually got that for you? It looks expensive!"

"She's not messing with you," Tracy lets out a sigh. "Your sister is officially engaged to Draco Malfoy."

"Can you not say that so loud," Danielle frowns before closing her eyes in bliss at the crunchy peanut buttery deliciousness of her breakfast.

"Malfoy?!" Abby shouts and the two Ravenclaws shush her quickly, "But you hate him!" Danielle and Tracy quickly explain the whole story about what had happened the night before to the girl who takes it all in eagerly.

"You better write to dad right away to tell him that it wasn't your idea," Abby suggests after the tale was told. "No wonder he was so mad. He thought you wanted to be with Malfoy but couldn't unless he gave them money."

"That's what he meant about medieval traditions," Danielle then looks to Tracy in realization. "He was annoyed that he had to pay a freaking dowry so that his daughter could marry her supposed husband of choice."

"Your poor dad," Tracy shakes her head. "Abby's right though, you should explain to him what is really going on."

"He might be even angrier now though," Danielle points out nervously. "He thinks he did all that to make me happy. What's he going to do when he finds out I hate Malfoy?"

"True," Tracy frowns, "But he deserves to know the truth."

"I know you're right," Danielle nods her head.

"Why did they think you actually wanted to be with him anyway?" Abby asks with a scrunched up face.

"I think it was Malfoy's parents that put it in their heads," Danielle shakes her head and shrugs. "It definitely wasn't me."

"You should write to your mom too then" Tracy advises, "It's ridiculous that you weren't able to talk to her at all last night."

"Alright, fine, I'll write to both my parents" Danielle concedes, "But only if you write to Harry and finally admit to him that you want his bones." Tracy punches her friend teasingly in the arm but stands up and follows her to the owlrey anyway.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The rest of the holidays passed quickly for Danielle, Tracy, and Abby. It was nice to have some time for just the three of them for a while. The only annoying thing that happened was Danielle receiving another invitation to join the Malfoy's for a smaller dinner party before term started again but she just sent them a polite "hell no" and went on with her life. She didn't care if it would look strange if she wasn't there or what pureblood tradition required of her. She wasn't going to spend any more time with them than she had to.

When it came time for everyone to return from break, Danielle, Tracy, and Abby waited eagerly in the entrance hall. Their preferred ratio of Ravenclaw to Gryffindor was off without the Golden Trio.

"Tracy," Harry's face split into a grin as soon as he saw the tiny girl and went over and hugged her. Hermione and Ron just laugh and exchange knowing glances with Danielle.

"Ron!" Abby began jumping up and down to finally have her favorite Weasley back. Ron was very happy to see her as well and danced around the entrance hall with her.

"Hey Hermione!" Danielle smiles at the girl awkwardly when it seemed like they were the two remaining. Hermione smiled back and took Danielle's left hand in her hand to lift it up and examine it. "What are you doing?" Danielle asks feeling embarrassed by the gaudy thing.

"I've done a bit of research," Hermione informs her, "I don't think there is anything we can do to remove it or hide it. Tracy was right about it being laced with really old dark magic. Especially if it is a family heirloom like you two said in the letters."

"Wow," Danielle hadn't expected the girl to go out of her way to help her out like that, "Thanks for looking all that up anyway."

"What's everyone gawking at?" Abby then asks after noticing that many people were looking over in their direction.

"Haven't you two read the daily prophet?" Harry asks awkwardly.

"No," Tracy says honestly. "We usually only read it when Hermione get's it." Hermione lets out a laugh and shakes her head.

"Did they print more lies about Harry?" Danielle asks feeling annoyed.

"Er… no," Hermione looked nervously over at Harry who knew all about getting unwanted attention because of the wizard newspaper.

"Danielle," Harry looks at her and her heart sinks. "There have been a few articles about you and Malfoy since you went to the party."

"What?" Danielle quickly looked around the room and tried to cover her ring. "What did they say?"

"Basically it was playing you two up, saying it was going to be the most anticipated wedding of the generation," Ron recites. "And, well, they just said that Malfoy was setting a great example for the whole wizarding population by forging a relationship with an American."

"They're praising him for encouraging international wizarding cooperation," Hermione frowns in annoyance. "What a load of rubbish."

"Thank goodness he dislikes you just as much as you dislike him," Harry looks at Danielle seriously. "With any luck, he'll have this whole thing called off soon."

"I'm surprised he hasn't been able to talk his parent out of it yet, to be honest," Ron adds.

"Are you joking?" Hermione throws up her hand as if they were stupid, "Look at all the attention the Malfoys are getting from this! Positive attention! They are getting exactly what they wanted! Malfoy's going to have a heck of a time persuading his parents to give it all up. Plus, it would look really suspicious if the engagement was called off so soon."

"Yeah Hermione, but that's not really making Danielle feel any better is it?" Harry asks his friend with a laugh.

"Sorry Danielle," Hermione looks down sheepishly.

"It's alright," Danielle smiles sadly, "You're right, that all makes sense. And really, wearing the ring for a bit longer isn't so terrible; just so long as I don't have to actually marry that insufferable dolt."

* * *

It was a few days later that Danielle sat at the Ravenclaw table with her friends, holding two letters up in her hands. Honestly, her parents were doing nothing but adding to her stress and anxiety. It was bad enough that she was now the subject of all the gossip at school. Ever since the holidays had ended, people had been coming up to her and asking her if the rumors were true; was she really engaged to Draco Malfoy? And of course, she had to tell them the truth. Well, part of the truth. She had to tell them that the rumors were fact, but she couldn't tell anyone how the whole thing was forced on her. She had to act like she was actually pleased to have 'the Slytherin prince' as her fiancé.

The worst thing was that the increased attention from her classmates wasn't positive. Most of them really disliked her now. She had to take a break from sitting at the Gryffindor table because most of the people there were angry with her for fraternizing with the enemy. The Slytherins hated her too; even more so than usual. The guys sneered and frowned at her in repulsion and Danielle was actually a little afraid to walk around the castle by herself with the way Pansy and the other Slytherin girls glared murderously at her and whispered secretively whenever she was nearby; so much for her being 'practically royalty'. At least she had her best friend and sister. And, of course, Ron, Hermione, and Harry had been very understanding so far as well. Danielle didn't know what she had done to deserve such loyalty from the three Gryffindors.

"What did your mother say?" Hermione asks curiously, ignoring the irritated looks she was getting from the Ravenclaws at the table.

"She says that Malfoy's parents contacted her and told her that I'd been showing an interest in their son. They basically told her that they thought what me and Malfoy had was the real deal, and that we'd make a great match. They asked her if she'd be interested in coming up with some sort of arrangement. They basically guilted her into it by telling her that they'd already had several offers from other people, but would be willing to try and work something out for the happiness of their own son." Danielle explained before shaking her head, "My mom believed them and wanted to do whatever she could to make me happy as well; even if it meant complying with the Malfoy's odd conditions."

"But, didn't she think that if Malfoy really loved you or something that the money wouldn't matter?" Harry asks looking annoyed. "If the Malfoy's really cared about their son's happiness they'd give up all other offers without expecting anything from you or your family."

"Oh, but didn't you know?" Danielle asks sarcastically, "The pureblood society is a delicate and never ending cycle of tradition." She recites Draco's words bitterly, "They told my mom that they couldn't break from tradition. That they needed some sort of compensation. They bought my mom over by promising to make it worth it for her too."

"Why didn't your mom ask you if any of this was true before agreeing to anything though?" Ron asks with a frown. "Does she just blindly believe anything she's told?"

"No," Danielle sighs. "But my mom… she knows that I'm sort of irritated with both her and my dad right now; just because of everything with the divorce. She knows it hasn't been easy for Abby and I. She probably just thought this would make up for some of the disruption that the divorced caused in my life. And she knows that, if for some reason I really did like Malfoy, I wouldn't ever ask her or dad to give up anything like this so that I could be with him. She thought she was doing something nice for me. She didn't know that the Malfoys were lying. And now she feels terrible. I feel bad for her too. I'm mad at her but I also feel bad. She wants to take it back now that she knows the truth but it's sort of too late."

"And, what about your dad?" Tracy asks then, looking to the second letter in Danielle's hands. "How's he taking it?"

"He's… furious with my mother and himself for being manipulated in the way that they were. He wants to kill the Malfoys. He's asked for me and Abby to pack up and come home right away," Danielle looks down feeling guilty. "He just wants to get me away from all of this."

"Maybe you should just do that," Ron suggests looking sad at the thought.

"I can't just leave now," Danielle laughs a little and holds up her hand so that the large emerald caught all of their eyes. "You think I can just run from this? Besides, I owe it to my parents to at least try to work through this peacefully. They both gave up so much to try and make me happy."

"Well, just be careful," Harry tells her seriously. "We don't know what Malfoy or his parents are willing to do or how far they'll go to drag you down."

* * *

Walking into Snape's classroom and sitting down next to Draco was probably the most awkward thing in the world now that everyone knew Danielle was engaged to him. She did her best to ignore her classmate's glares and whispers as she plopped down next to the blonde devil. Snape quickly explained the potion that his students were to brew for that day's class before telling them to get to work. Draco turned and glared at Danielle, obviously expecting her to get up and get the supplies they'd need. As usual, he was going to do the bare minimum. Danielle growled in irritation and shoved out of her seat to go collect the ingredients. When she got back to their table, Draco shoved the book with the directions toward her before turning away and laying his head down on the desk.

"You seem even more bad tempered than usual," Danielle frowns at the back of her partners head before opening a bag of some yellow dried up leaves and dumping them out on the desk.

"I hate you," was the muffled response. "If it weren't for you and your stupid family…" His voice trailed off into incoherent grumbles.

"I'd cheer up if I were you," Danielle says indignantly as she cuts and measures the ingredients. "Just think, once you get your parents to call this whole thing off, you'll get to dump me. You'll get to publically humiliate me by making up some reason or another for why I'm not good enough for you and all your cruel friends will worship the ground you walk on for putting me in my place. Then, all your Slytherin bimbos will rush to your side to lavish you with more attention with renewed vigor; hoping to be the next one to get a shot at being a perfect little trophy wife."

Draco lifts his head and turns to the girl with a frown, "as lovely as that sounds, I'm more worried about you publically humiliating me." Danielle threw her large dicing knife down on the desk with a loud thud causing a few people to look over.

"Humiliating you?" She asks irritably, "You're not the one having to go around waving this disgusting ring in people's face and pretending you're happy." She puts on a fake smile and begins speaking in an exaggerated high pitched girly voice, "Oh yes! It's true, me and Malfoy! Yes, we still have a year of school left but we're of age and just don't feel like waiting! When it's right it's right, you know?"

"Please don't tell me you've actually been acting like that," Draco looked completely disturbed by Danielle's imitation. Danielle just shrugged and went back to cutting up the slimy unidentifiable animal part that she'd just forked from a jar. Draco huffed, "I was talking about your interactions with Potter and his idiotic friends anyway."

"What?" Danielle looked over at Draco exasperated.

"You're engaged to a Malfoy," Draco snaps at her. "You can't be sitting around, chatting it up with those filthy Gryffindors. Do you have any idea how you're making me look?"

"How I'm making _you_ look? Really?" Danielle lets out a laugh, "At least my friends are being supportive. You'd think your Slytherin friends would have a little more respect for the all mighty Malfoy's fiancée, no matter who she was."

"Maybe if you behaved more like a Malfoy to be, they'd cut you some slack" Draco challenges. Danielle frowns.

"I can't just turn into Pansy Parkinson overnight," Danielle states irritably. "Even if I wanted to, people in this school know how I act and who I hang out with. Everyone would be suspicious if my personality just randomly did a 180 after being engaged to you. It would make YOU look suspicious."

"Whatever…" Draco narrows his eyes at her before turning away and putting his head back down.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

There was a blizzard going on outside on the Hogwarts grounds and it was freezing cold, but Quidditch didn't stop for the weather. Danielle and Tracy sat with their Ravenclaw housemates, bundled up as best they could as they watched Gryffindor battle it out against their own house team. It was terribly awkward for them because they were friends with Harry and Ron, and wanted them to win. But since they were Ravenclaws, they were supposed to want their team to win. They also couldn't cheer for Harry because they were sitting with the Ravenclaws. They couldn't sit with Hermione and Abby in the Gryffindor stands though because of Danielle's stupid engagement to a Slytherin. The disunity between the Hogwarts houses was starting to wear down on the two American girls.

"It is way too cold out here," Tracy said through her chattering teeth.

"I know," Danielle mumbles. "How can any of them even see what's going on out there?" The snow was falling so hard that the people in the stands couldn't even tell what was happening in the game. Danielle and Tracy couldn't believe that none of the Quidditch players had collided into each other yet.

"Harry better catch that dang stitch soon," Tracy whispers so that her housemates wouldn't hear.

"You mean the snitch?" Danielle asks with a laugh.

"Whatever." Tracy hated the cold

"Well, I hope we win" Danielle declares as she narrows her eyes to try and see through the large white flakes. Tracy turns and looks to her friend irritably.

"Why?"

"House spirit, of course!" Danielle smiles teasingly. "And just think of how much Harry will despise Cho after she beats him!"

"Whatever," Tracy says again before changing the subject. "By the way, how's the love of your life doing? Zabini told me in potions the other day that he's been super touchy ever since term started; even with the other Slytherins."

Danielle shrugged, "Obviously being engaged to me has ruined his life. But yeah, he was acting sort of off the other day; more moody than usual. But that's to be expected isn't it?"

"I just think it's weird that he'd be taking it out on his own housemates," Tracy offers. "Isn't he supposed to be pretending to actually want this anyway?"

"He doesn't need to," Danielle says bitterly. "He can treat me and whoever else in any way he wants because he's a Malfoy. It's me who's supposed to be throwing myself at his feet with gratitude. You know it's a privilege for him to even give me the time of day right?" Tracy chuckles at her friend's sarcasm.

"I almost feel bad for Malfoy for being forced into an engagement with you," She laughs. "I don't think he expected a fiancée that pushes back." Danielle laughs at this too.

"I almost feel bad for him too," Danielle admits. "My parents agreed to this because they love me and thought they were giving me what I wanted. Malfoy's parents didn't give a crap about what their son wanted or how he felt. Did you see how hard he begged his mother at dinner to call it off? She didn't even care. That's so heartless."

"I suppose," Tracy frowns in thought. "But Malfoy probably expected to be forced into a marriage with a girl he didn't actually love. Then again, he also probably assumed it would be someone he could at least tolerate… not someone he completely abhorred."

"Well, he'll still get his tolerable brainless pureblood Slytherin girl," Danielle assures shaking her head in disgust, "Because I'll throw myself over the astronomy tower before marrying such a chauvinistic narcissist."

The conversation was cut off then by a roar of cheering from over in the Gryffindor section of the stands and groans of disappointment from their own section. Harry had caught the snitch! Gryffindor had won! Danielle and Tracy were just happy to get back into the castle and out away from the elements.

* * *

Danielle let out a sigh of relief as she left her astronomy class. The day was now over and she could finally drop her stuff off at the common room and then go down to the great hall for dinner. She threw her messenger bag over her shoulder and made her way down the hall way. She turned the corner to head to the stair well and was surprised to run straight into the bane of her existence.

"Emmings," Draco muttered looking a little bit too startled at seeing her. He looked over his shoulder quickly before turning back to Danielle who frowned. What was he looking all jumpy for? She tilted her head curiously as she looked at his face. He looked tired. His face immediately turned murderous under her scrutiny. "A little birdie told me that Ross's dating Potter," he snarls at her. "Tell me it's not true. It's disgraceful!"

"Yes, it's true. But gee Malfoy, it truly breaks my heart to see my betrothed so clearly interested in another woman," Danielle rolls her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for this. She was never in the mood for this.

"I'm not interested in another woman! I just think she's too good to be hanging around a bunch of Gryffindors," Draco defends before stifling a yawn. "And who cares if I did like her anyway? You hate me, remember? Unless you really have been secretly yearning after me this whole time; it wouldn't surprise me in the least."

Danielle lets out a sarcastic laugh, "Oh yeah, Malfoy, I just can't get enough of your loving looks and charming personality. Besides, I thought people didn't yearn after you; just your name and money." Draco recoiled a bit and seemed at a loss for words. Danielle smiled inwardly; she'd stumped him. He let out a growl after a moment.

"Stop calling me Malfoy" He snaps and Danielle is surprised that he'd changed the subject completely. He hadn't found anyway to argue Danielle's previous statement.

"I thought that's what you wanted me to call you," Danielle challenges. "You were crying about it for months."

"I don't care," He counters, "Stop it!" Danielle was a little confused now.

"Well then what should I call you then?" She asks angrily, "Or should I just not talk to you at all? That might not be so terrible an option."

"Just… call me Draco," he sighs looking a little annoyed with himself for being such a hypocrite. Danielle stared at him dumbly.

"No," Danielle crosses her arms defiantly after a second.

"You're my fiancée! If we're going to be married you can't be calling me by my last name!" He reasons.

"Right," Danielle nods her head," _IF_ we were, but we aren't. So, I think I'll call you whatever I want. I'm sick of you trying to order me around."

"You're really that hell bent on not marrying me?" Draco asks looking even more irritated now, "It doesn't even make sense. Being a Malfoy is a privilege that anyone else would be thrilled to have!"

"Then marry one of those people who care," Danielle shrugs. "I know this is hard for you to wrap your mind around but I actually DON'T want to be a MALFOY! I could care less about having the money or the status. Having to put up with you ever day wouldn't be worth it." Once again, Draco faltered.

"I… yeah right!" His face turns murderous, "Having everything you could ever want wouldn't be worth it? You have no idea what you're going to miss out on!" Danielle sighs and stares at the boy curiously.

"What I'm missing out on?" She asks darkly, "You mean playing house with a bunch of heartless death eaters?" Draco's whole body stiffened at her words. Danielle knew she was playing with fire now but Draco's high and mighty attitude was really starting to bug her. She wanted to cut him down a few inches. "What's wrong?" Danielle pushes on, "It's not like it's a huge secret. You told me yourself what sorts of people were at your house on Christmas Eve. Forgive me if I don't want to join a family who surrounds themselves in lies, dark magic, and murder."

A look of fear flashed in Draco's face before being replaced with hatred. He reached forward and gripped Danielle's arm harshly. He jerked her forward so they were face to face. Danielle was close enough to see the bags under the boy's eyes signaling a lack of sleep. "You have NO idea what you're talking about," Draco growls threatening. Danielle refused to let him intimidate her and lifted her chin confidently.

"Whatever MALFOY," She emphasizes his last name. "It seems like you don't like being compared with your family so much now that it's being associated with something that isn't as attractive as money or power." With that, she yanked her arm away and stomped off away from him without a backwards glance.

* * *

"So, you and Potter, huh?" Blaise Zabini raises an eyebrow at Tracy while they worked on making yet another very complicated potion.

"Yeah," Tracy smiles happily as she pours some sweet smelling liquid into her cauldron. She was dating a legend.

"Can't say I saw that one coming," he mutters; glancing down at his book to read the next step in the directions.

"Jealous?" Tracy quirks an eyebrow and the dark skinned boy smirks in amusement.

"Hardly," He replies. "It's just funny to me. You and Emmings are best friends yet are with guys who completely loath each other."

"Well, Danielle and Malfoy aren't really together," Tracy shrugs but can't help but smile to herself at the bit of truth in what he pointed out. It was a little amusing.

"Are you sure?" Blaise looks to the girl then; his dark brown eyes boring into hers. The intensity made Tracy feel a bit uncomfortable.

"What are you talking about?" She asks hesitantly, "I told you before that it was all arranged. Danielle hates Malfoy."

"I don't want to alarm you," Blaise drawls on. "But, Malfoy's been extremely… distant lately. Ever since he's come back from break, he's been spending less and less time with the rest of us. I've even caught him sneaking out of the commons after hours a few times. Nobody knows where he's been disappearing off to and it just seems logical that…"

"You think he's in a secret relationship with Danielle?" Tracy had to hold back from laughing. "Well, I don't know what Malfoy's up too but I promise Danielle has nothing to do with it. She wouldn't spend any more time with him than necessary. And, I would have noticed if there was a similar change in her behavior. She's been the same as usual."

Blaise shrugs then and they both look down at the two in question. Danielle was frantically trying to finish their assignment while Draco just leaned on the desk, looking away from her, blatantly not helping at all. Blaise let out a laugh, "I guess you're right. But still, it would make things a bit more interesting though, yeah?"

"Too interesting," Tracy frowns at the thought before turning to Blaise again. "So, are your parents going to force a wife on you one day as well?" Blaise narrows his eyes at the girl and Tracy realizes that perhaps that was a bit personal to just ask. He smirks again after a moment though.

"Why? Jealous?" He gives her a taste of her own medicine and Tracy laughs.

"No," She shakes her head. "I like a bit more Gryffindor in my men" Blaise actually scowls at this.

"Spare me the details," He frowns as he stirs their potion. "And if you must know, your friend's misfortune has been a blessing for me. Now that Malfoy's off the market, I'll have my pick of the bunch. So, if you know anyone interested in the position of Mrs. Zabini I'd have them put their offer in quick because I expect I'll be getting really popular soon." Tracy fights off the look of disgust. Blaise hadn't seemed so terrible before but now he was talking about the whole concept of marriage as any other Slytherin pureblood would.

"Well, sounds like you lucked out then," Tracy says coldly and she hears Blaise let out a laugh.

"That makes you angry?" He asks her.

"It just baffles me that you people will pick the girl that looks best on your arm to marry rather than the girl that would actually make you happy," Tracy grumbles, feeling a bit childish for being annoyed with Blaise. She wasn't really friends with him so what should she care if he throws his life away.

"Who says those girls aren't one in the same?" Blaise challenges.

"Oh, that's right," Tracy states. "I forgot that Slytherins are content as long at the package looks good. It doesn't matter what's on the inside because nobody but you has to see that part."

"You're being cryptic, Ross" Blaise says sounding bored. "I know you aren't talking about the girl specifically anymore. And you should give us Slytherins more credit. Didn't you notice how Malfoy fought his parents on the engagement at first? He didn't care about what Emmings brought to the table. He doesn't like her and that was what mattered to him."

"Why are you talking in past tense?" Tracy questions to try and divert Blaise's attention so that she wouldn't have to acknowledge his very valid point that went against her assumptions. "Isn't Malfoy still trying to fight the whole thing? And doesn't it still matter to him that he doesn't love her?" Blaise shrugs then and turns away from her.

"That's something you'll have to ask him yourself."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"You know what's weird?" Tracy walks over and plops down on Danielle's bed.

"That you still feel bad about upsetting Zabini?" Danielle mutters through her closed eyes. She was ready for bed but her friend wanted to talk apparently.

"I don't feel bad," Tracy defends herself, "I just don't like how it's awkward to work with him now. But anyway, that isn't what I was going to say. It's about Harry."

Danielle lifted her head and looked at Tracy, "No, I don't know what's weird about Harry and I don't know if I want to." Tracy laughed and smacked her friend in the arm.

"Don't be gross!" She says before letting out a sigh, "I just noticed lately that sometimes Harry's just … gone."

"Mentally?" Danielle asks with an innocent smile; earning her a glare.

"No!" Tracy shakes her head, "I mean… literally gone. I don't know where he is." Danielle wasn't sure where Tracy was going with this so she just stayed silent and waited for her friend to explain. "What I mean is, sometimes after dinner, Harry goes off somewhere without Ron and Hermione. When I asked where he was going I couldn't get a straight answer from him. Isn't that weird?"

"You said that Zabini mentioned Malfoy sneaking off at night too…" Danielle hums, "Maybe it's those two that are secretly dating." Tracy bursts out laughing.

"We really know how to pick them then, don't we?" she laughs.

"I didn't pick anything," Danielle holds up her hands defensively. "But, it would be my luck to be in an arranged marriage with a guy who swings the other way." Tracy continues to laugh for a moment before sighing and getting serious.

"But really, what do you think Harry's doing? It's not that I'm snooping or anything… well maybe a little… but it's just weird. Why wouldn't he just tell me?"

"He's probably off trying to find some more dangerous and evil creatures to slaughter and add to his resume," Danielle says, only half joking. "I mean think about it. Nobody ever knows he does these things until after they happen, right?"

"But why wouldn't Ron and Hermione go with him?" Tracy asks looking nervous.

"I really don't think you need to worry," Danielle tells her friend honestly. "I mean, he probably just needs some alone time or something. He's always with Ron and Hermione. I'm sure he needs a break from them from time to time. Just like sometimes you and I need breaks from each other."

"Yeah…" Tracy looks down, "You're probably right. I'm just being dumb."

"Nah," Danielle smiles. "You're just being Harry Potter's girlfriend." She said this just to make Tracy blush and it worked. The reality of that fact still threw Tracy for a loop. It was odd to think that someone as important as Harry Potter wanted to date her. It was crazy.

* * *

"Hey Danielle, what's up with Malfoy lately?" Danielle turns to look at Ron and shrugs. She was sitting with Ron and Hermione in one of Hogwarts study areas. Harry and Tracy were off talking somewhere and Abby was outside having a snowball fight against the Hufflepuff first years.

"Honestly Ron, how do you expect her to know," Hermione asks the red head in annoyance. "Just because she's been forced to be engaged to him doesn't mean she knows everything about him!"

"Sorry," Ron frowns. "I just don't get it. He's been looking out of sorts recently. He was falling asleep during defense against the dark arts this morning and kind of just seemed …"

"Disheveled," Hermione finished for him before looking to Danielle as well. "He's been neglecting his homework as well. The professor took 10 points from Slytherin today because Malfoy hadn't had his essay to turn in."

"Yeah, he's been falling asleep in potions too" Danielle recalls angrily, "it's starting to get annoying. It's nearly impossible to brew some of that stuff by yourself. And of course, Snape says nothing."

"What do you think has got him all worn out?" Ron asks, "Quidditch practices?"

"Doubtful," Hermione leans back in her seat. "I don't think he would actually sacrifice his grades for Quidditch. Malfoy is a lot of things but stupid isn't one of them."

"Whatever," Danielle mutters. "It's not our problem."

* * *

It was a few days later that Danielle was sitting in the library and heard an Irish accent call out her name.

"Danielle?"

"Yeah?" She looked up to see a familiar Gryffindor boy.

"Hey," He looked nervous. "I don't know if you remember me, my name is Seamus."

"Uh, yeah," Danielle did know who he was but was unsure of why he was talking to her. "You're friends with Harry. I've seen you at the Gryffindor table." The boy looked relieved until Danielle saw his eyes fall onto the ring on her finger.

"So, it's true about you and Malfoy then?" He asks.

"Yeah," Danielle confesses but leans forward in her seat, "But, between you and me, this whole engagement thing wasn't really my idea so I don't see it lasting very long."

"Really?" Seamus smiles hesitantly. Danielle knew Malfoy would probably hex her if he knew what she had just said but she didn't really care. Seamus seemed cool and she wasn't about to cut off her options just because of her this temporary engagement.

"Yeah. So, did you seek me out just to ask me about that or was there something else?" Danielle asks as she closes the book she had been reading and puts it in her bag.

"Well, I was wondering. You see, Harry told me you were taking astronomy. I'm taking astronomy too and well, I'm not doing very well. He told me you were smart so you were probably doing well in there. Plus, your Ravenclaw so… yeah," Seamus' rambling was cut off as the librarian shushing him.

"Anyway," He continued in a whisper, "I was wondering if you'd object to helping me out. We've got a test coming up, and well, I can't really afford to fail this one. Exams will be coming up soon and..."

"Yes, of course I'll help you." Danielle laughs as she stands up, "It's no problem at all. We can figure out a time later at dinner."

"Okay!" Seamus exclaims, "Thanks so much!"

"Don't sweat it," Danielle says as they leave the library. Danielle waves bye to her new friend as she heads towards the Ravenclaw common room. She turns the corner and comes face to face with Draco.

"You?" Danielle asks but jumps when she looks up into Malfoy's face. "You look dreadful!"

It was true. Draco looked pale and tired. He still had bags under his eyes and his hair was ruffled like he had been running his hand through it over and over again.

"Gee Thanks," He rolled his eyes then moved to walk around her.

"Uh no!" Danielle blocks his path, "What are you up to?"

"None of your business," He frowns and attempts to walk away again.

"Um HELLO!? I'm only engaged to you," Danielle laugh sarcastically, "I think it IS my business if you look like death warmed over."

"Yes, but we aren't really engaged." Draco replies dryly, "We hate each other."

"Does this look fake to you?" Danielle snaps shoving the huge green emerald in her fiancé's face. "I really hope you're still trying to fix this."

"Yeah, well, I've been kind of busy." He replied.

"Well you better start getting UN-busy because I refuse to let myself be married to you," Danielle says firmly.

"Are you done?" Draco asks sounding exhausted, "I have something I'm supposed to be doing."

"YOU ARE INFURIATING!" Danielle shouts, "What is WRONG with you right now?"

Draco ignored Danielle's shouts and took the chance to skirt around her and continue down the hall.

* * *

"He does look awful," Tracy says after hearing about Danielle's encounter with Draco.

"But what does he mean?" Harry looks furious, "He's been too busy to talk to his parents about calling off the engagement?"

"I know!" Danielle growls angrily.

"But he hates you! He must want this whole thing to end as much as you do, if not more!" Ron mentions looking bewildered. "What could be more important to him than getting out of having Danielle as a wife?"

"He's up to something," Tracy decides, "he's looked like hell for over a month now and has been acting very odd."

"I'm NOT marrying him. I don't care how busy he is!" Danielle declares.

"Harry, can't you keep an eye on Malfoy with the marauders map? Maybe you can figure out what he's been doing." Ron suggests.

"Good idea Ron!" Harry smiles at his friend.

"What's the marauders map?" Tracy asks curiously.

"It's a map of Hogwarts that shows you where everyone is," Ron explains excitedly. "It's the only one of its kind! My older twin brothers, Fred and George, stole it from Filch's office when they were first years."

"That sounds creepy," Danielle admits.

"Well, it's going to help us find out what Malfoy's been up too," Harry tells her eagerly. Danielle could tell that the boy was hoping to catch his rival doing something truly awful so that he could get him in trouble. "I'll let you know if I see him do anything suspicious."

"Thank you," Danielle lets out a laugh. "I knew they didn't call you the chosen one for nothing." All her friends laughed.

"By the way, Danielle" Hermione then eyed the girl in a way that made the Ravenclaw nervous; "I heard you agreed to help Seamus out with his upcoming astronomy exam."

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Danielle ignores the comment, "You're looking at me in the way that you used to look at Tracy when talking about Harry." Ron snorts and Harry and Tracy blush.

"He's been asking me about you for a while," Hermione admits then. "I guess he's finally packed up enough courage to talk to you."

"He just wants help studying," Danielle says before hesitantly asking, "Right?"

"He's really been asking you about her?" Ron asks Hermione in surprise, "How come he never said anything to me or Harry?"

"Because you two are boys," Hermione crosses her arms. "If he came up and asked you two if Danielle would like him, you would have just made fun of him or gave him a hard time." Harry and Ron shrug and nod to each other as if that were the truth.

"He asked you if I would like him?" Danielle felt her face heat up now.

"What did you tell him?" Tracy asks.

"I told him he'd have to talk to Danielle to find out," Hermione says proudly. "I think you'll like him actually. He's funny and loud."

"Just like me?" Danielle asks with a laugh. She didn't really know what to say to her friends right now. It was overwhelming to find out that someone was interested in her. Her engagement to Draco was going to be a real inconvenience if she ended up liking this guy back. Danielle just hoped everything would work out.

* * *

"You really don't mind missing the Quidditch match to help me?" Seamus asks Danielle as they walk together to find a quiet place to work.

"It's just Slytherin against Hufflepuff," Danielle shrugs. "Nothing too exciting; no matter who wins I'd say Gryffindor has the Quidditch cup in the bag."

"Hufflepuff's team is actually pretty good," Seamus tells her as they sit down and pull out their homework. He hesitates before adding, "And uh… won't Malfoy be mad that you aren't there to cheer him on?" Danielle snorts.

"He's got enough cheerleaders," She shakes her head in amusement before gawking at Seamus' star chart. It had a huge hole burned right through the middle of it. "What happened to it?"

"Well… I accidently blew it up," Seamus says sheepishly and Danielle bursts out laughing.

"How on earth?" Danielle wipes the tears of laughter out of her eyes as she pulls the parchment from the guy's hands to examine it, "Oh Merlin, you need more help than I thought!" Seamus just laughs along as Danielle pulls her own star chart out and quickly waves her wand over it to make him a copy.

"Thanks!" Seamus says appreciatively.

"Ah, no problem" Danielle sighs. "Now, let's look at these planet positions."

It was a few hours later when Tracy and Abby walked in to find Danielle and Seamus laughing hysterically.

"That's not possible!" Danielle was saying between laughs, "How did you blow up a feather just by casting a hovering charm? What could you possibly have done?"

"What?" Abby looks at her sister curiously.

"This guy," Danielle gathers her things up and puts it in her bag, "Too much!"

"Hey, it's not my fault," Seamus shrugs with a grin before looking to the others. "Who won?"

"Hufflepuff," Tracy tells him.

"It was bull!" Abby cries in outrage, "Slytherin should have dominated. Malfoy was off his game today! I know he's not the best but today he was just sloppy."

"I guess that rules out Ron's theory about Quidditch practice wearing him out then," Danielle sighs before looking to her sister. "What does it matter to you if Slytherin loses anyway?"

"I wanted to see a Gryffindor versus Slytherin game," Abby admits. "Now it's going to be Gryffindor against either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff in the finals."

"Eh, you aren't missing anything," Seamus smiles to the first year. "Slytherin never had a chance against Gryffindor anyway."

"Yep, that's right" Danielle then sticks her tongue out at her sister, "We all know it's Ravenclaw that's going to take home the trophy anyway."

"Sure," Abby rolls her eyes at her sister, "Whatever you say."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

It was a few days later when Harry pulled out his map of the school at dinner and discovered something odd.

"Guys," He says sliding the map over so they could all look, "Take a look at where Malfoy's at right now."

"Isn't that a girl's bathroom?" Abby asks with a laugh as she studies the parchment, "What would he be doing in there?"

"That bathroom's always empty," Hermione points out looking nervous. "Nobody ever goes in there because it's haunted."

"I'll bet he's up to no good in there!" Ron declares.

"Ron's right," Harry says seriously. "Whatever he's doing, he obviously doesn't want anybody to catch him! Maybe we should go check it out."

"Harry, don't you think you're jumping the gun a little?" Tracy asks curiously, "I mean… it's just a bathroom."

"Yeah, but it's an out of order girl's bathroom," Abby frowns. "There is no way Malfoy would just go in there for fun."

"And don't you guys want to know what he's been up to?" Harry asks eagerly, "This might be our only chance."

"Okay," Tracy gives in to her curiosity, "But what, are we just going to all sneak up and burst in on him?"

"We can't do that," Hermione says firmly. "Malfoy will retaliate. We can't ambush him."

"Well then what are we going to do?" Ron asks sounding annoyed.

"We don't have to do anything," Hermione narrows her eyes. "Whatever Malfoy's doing, it's none of our business. We should just leave it alone."

"None of our business?" Harry snaps, "What about Danielle? Whatever has Malfoy acting like this has also been keeping him from trying to get his parents to call off the stupid engagement!"

"Well then, maybe Danielle should go then" Hermione looks to the girl hesitantly.

"Me?" Danielle asks in shock. As much as she wanted the ring off her finger, Danielle didn't fancy a confrontation with Draco in a haunted girl's bathroom.

"You know he'll get nasty with any of us if we pop in on him," Hermione says, gesturing between herself, Ron and Harry. "And now that Tracy is dating Harry, I'm not sure he'll like that either."

"You think he'll be any happier to see me?" Danielle gasps with a little laugh.

"Yeah, Hermione, what the heck," Ron looks outraged, "you can't just volunteer Danielle like that. What if he sends a curse at her?"

"He's not going to attack his own fiancée" Hermione huffs irritably, "I wouldn't suggest that Danielle go unless I was absolutely sure it was safe for her. He can't do anything to her."

"Maybe Hermione's right," Tracy looks to her friend sadly. "I know it isn't ideal but… it is probably best if you go."

"You don't have to," Hermione then adds quickly. "I mean, it could be nothing."

Danielle sighs and looks around the table at her friends. "Ugh, why not?" She gives in a bit reluctantly and gets up from the Ravenclaw table. "I haven't had a good fight with him in a while. I suppose I'll be right back then." They all wish her good luck before she turns and heads out of the great hall. Danielle wasn't exactly thrilled to be doing this but she had to admit that she was curious about what Draco had been up too lately. His behavior was more than suspicious. He'd gone from being the loud and obnoxiously proud pureblood they all knew to a quiet and sickly looking boy. And really, it was Danielle's right to know what was going on. She was engaged to this bugger after all. Perhaps this would even give her something to use to get out of the engagement.

As she approached the door to the bathroom she began to feel nervous however. What was she about to find? Of course, there was a chance that it was nothing but what if it wasn't? She put her ear to the door and secretly hoped that Draco had left before she had gotten there. Danielle continued to try to rationalize in her head about what this guy would be doing in a haunted girl's bathroom. Maybe Draco was just really sick. It would explain the way he'd been looking lately. And Danielle confessed to herself that she'd hide away in a boy's bathroom if she was sick and didn't want anyone bothering her. But that's when she heard a choked sob come from inside. Suddenly, Danielle's nerves vanished with curiosity and she pushed the door open.

She stepped in and heard more sniffling and crying. She crept in a little farther and looked to her left towards the back. She was shocked to see Draco standing there, facing away from her and leaning onto one of the sinks. He was staring into the mirror with tears running down his face. He looked even worse than he had when she had last talked to him. His robes were off so all he was wearing was a crumpled up white button up dress shirt and black dress pants. His green Slytherin tie was loosened and hung crooked from his neck. His hair was in disarray. He was a complete mess.

"Draco," Danielle whispers quietly; his first name sliding off her tongue without a second thought. His whole body froze for a moment before he whipped around, drawing his wand and aiming it directly at her heart. His grief ridden face melted into a frown when he saw who was with him. Danielle looked into Draco's red puffy eyes and was at a complete loss for words. This was way beyond anything she had expected to find. "Are you ok?" It was the first thing that Danielle could think of to ask. He didn't answer her and Danielle allowed her eyes to drift down to the exposed skin of his left forearm which hung at his side. His sleeves were pushed up and Danielle's heart almost stopped at what she saw. The dark mark black and vivid was tattooed on his pale wrist. Fear like Danielle had never felt before consumed her; the dark mark… you-know-who's mark… the mark of a death eater. Her eyes snapped back up to Draco's in panic. Fresh tears had begun to fall down his cheeks though and Danielle saw just as much fear in his eyes as she knew was radiating from her own.

"Draco…" She whispered again hesitantly and unconsciously reached out toward his arm to get a better look. She'd never seen a real dark mark before; only pictures in books and in the papers. How could Draco be a death eater? Sure his father was one, but Draco was so young. He was still in school.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" He shouts and the wand pointing at Danielle starts to tremble along with the boy holding it. Danielle wasn't sure why but her fear began ebbing away and she gently pushed Draco's wand down so it was pointing at the floor. Her brain was going into overdrive to try and come up with how to handle this. She had to be careful. Draco was dangerous right now, not just because he was a death eater, but because his emotional state made him rather unpredictable.

"What's going on?" She asks as gently as possible but Draco still flinched as if she had screamed at him. He was gritting his teeth and looking away from Danielle now in embarrassment.

"Why don't you just run off and tattle like I know you're going to" He finally mutters; his face then contorted into a look of pure agony as he fought off more tears. Danielle had never seen someone look so undone before.

"I want you to tell me what's going on," Danielle states firmly. Finding Draco Malfoy crying in a bathroom was simply unbelievable. The catastrophe in front of her was the complete opposite of the boy she'd been dealing with since September. Draco continued to look away from Danielle as he squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. "I'd rather not stand here all night questioning you," Danielle sighs. "Please just talk to me. You've got to tell me something because I can't just walk away after seeing this." She wasn't lying to him, even if she did just turn around and leave right now… what would she do? He probably wouldn't even let her leave. Draco probably was going to have to either kill her or threaten her to keep her mouth shut. He could be sent to Azkaban for what was on his arm.

"What do you want me to say?" Draco asks, suddenly looking up and meeting Danielle's eyes. "I know you probably hate me even more now. I know how you feel about this." He points at the skull and snake inked into his arm and Danielle feels her stomach twist in disgust and fear. The hate Danielle felt was for the psycho who had branded Draco though, not for the boy himself.

"Since when do you care what I think?" Danielle questions sadly and the boy just shrugs. "Are you going to tell me when you got that thing?" She gestures to his wrist.

"During the dinner party that my parent's had at the manor after Christmas; the one you refused the invitation to, matter of fact." He explained finally. Danielle was surprised that he'd given her that information so easily.

"Did you want it?" Danielle asks quietly; fearing the answer. Draco's lip pulled back into a sneer.

"I know what _you're_ thinking. Like father like son. Am I right?" Draco asks with a snarl his devastation quickly turning into anger.

Danielle flinches at his outburst but holds her ground. "You know very well that I don't think like that. I've been trying to tell you since I met you that a person isn't defined by their family's actions."

"You don't know anything!" He shouts at her.

"So, you did want it?" Danielle asks feeling oddly disappointed.

"Don't put words in my mouth, Emmings," Draco glares at her.

"So, you were forced to take it?" Danielle asks.

"I NEVER SAID THAT!" He shouts furiously and Danielle throws her arms up in annoyance.

"Ok, then stop making me guess and just explain to me what's going on," Danielle pleads. This situation was extremely serious and Danielle wanted all her facts straight before she decided what to do.

"What is there to explain?" Draco asks and for a second fear breaks through the boy's wall of anger again. "You're going to go turn me in and have me sent to Azkaban."

"Is that what you think you deserve?" Danielle asks.

"Are you daft? You think I WANT to go there? Have you seen what happens to people in there?!" Draco looks at her as if she's stupid now.

"I didn't ask you what you wanted; I asked you what you thought you deserved," Danielle corrects him. "What have you been doing for the past month and a half that's reduced you to having mental break downs in a deserted girl's bathroom?"

"Like I could even tell you that," Draco looks furious with Danielle for even mentioning the pathetic state she had caught him in.

"Is it really bad?" Danielle asks; she hated that Draco was making her play this guessing game.

"I'm getting orders from the most powerful dark wizard that ever lived," Draco snaps. "What do you think?"

"So… you have some sort of mission or something?" Danielle asks nervously.

"You didn't think I'd just take the mark and the dark lord would just send me on my merry way back to school did you?" Draco asks with a sarcastic laugh.

"You actually saw him?" Danielle felt her whole body go cold at the thought.

"Look, you don't even really need to worry about what I'm doing. With the lack of progress I've made, I'll be dead before long." He looks down and he shivers in fear. Draco wasn't Danielle's favorite person, obviously, but he was just a seventeen year old kid. She didn't want him to die. He was her classmate. He was a bully but he wasn't evil; he was just blindly doing what his death eater parent's probably told him to do.

"I'm sorry… did you say dead?" Danielle asks feeling sick, "You became a death eater so that you can die a few months later?"

"Don't call me that!" Draco shouts, "And what did you think the dark lord would do to me once I fail the only thing he's asked of me?"

"You could go to Dumbledore," The idea pops out of Danielle's mouth before she even had time to think about it, "You need to tell him all of this. He can help you."

"Are you mad? Help me what? Fulfill the dark lord's wishes? I doubt that. If I go to Dumbledore he'll just turn me in! They'll send me to Azkaban for sure then!" Draco shouts hysterically.

"No, Draco, you haven't done anything wrong yet. Dumbledore can help you get out of doing this stupid mission and protect you from you-know-who!" Danielle explains, "It's obvious you don't want to do this so why put yourself through the misery?"

"And what? Betray my parents? He'll kill them too as soon as he finds out I went to Dumbledore!" Draco argues. Danielle felt a wave of anger at him for defending his parents.

"Your parents betrayed you by allowing you to get into this mess in the first place!" Danielle snaps. She knows that he can't just let his parents die though, even if this was their entire fault, "Besides, Dumbledore can probably help them too, if they're willing."

"Why are you even still here?! You know what I am!" Draco tells her then looking conflicted, "I don't understand why you've chosen to stand around questioning me when you could go rat me out like I know you're going to."

"I can't just leave you here like this. And I'm not stupid" Danielle says honestly in a very quiet voice. "You wouldn't just let me walk out now that I know what I know"

"I've never been able to stop you from doing what you wanted before," Draco crosses his arms.

"But you could just kill me as soon as my back is turned?" Danielle mutters. She was pretty sure that Draco didn't have it in him to actually kill someone. But, she hadn't ever expected to see the dark mark on his arm either so she had to be cautious.

"I won't." Draco says and Danielle somehow knows he is telling the truth.

"Please go to Dumbledore. I'll go with you," Danielle says firmly. "I won't let him take you to Azkaban. Just tell him your situation and he'll fix it. I know he will!"

"Why would you go through all this trouble for someone you hate?" Draco then asks sounding tired.

"You don't deserve to die," Danielle says and Draco shakes his head in disbelief. He still looked frail and tired. "We can figure this out," Danielle continues. "I want to help you." Draco looked like he couldn't decide whether or not to trust her.

"Well…" He wrings his hands together nervously.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Danielle challenges, "I know for a fact that Dumbledore will help you."

"What if he doesn't?" Draco asks quietly.

"He will," Danielle tells him.

"How can you be so sure?" He asks her warily.

"Stop arguing with me just to argue," Danielle shakes her head at him. "I know you already made up your mind. Look at how I found you Draco… you can't continue on like that." Draco stares at Danielle for a long time, an inner conflict raging inside his head.

"Fine" He sighs after a minute and Danielle feels relief wash over her as well, "whatever Dumbledore does can't possibly be any worse than what I would have faced anyway."

"That's right," She tells him. He jumps in shock when Danielle reaches down and grabs his left hand in hers quickly. She rolls down his sleeve to cover up the nasty symbol there before gently pulling him out of the bathroom and leading him up the stairs towards the headmaster's office.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

"Maybe this is a bad idea," Draco says for the millionth time between the time they left the bathroom and the moment they came up to the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Danielle turned around and shushed him. He was still so distraught from everything that happened that he didn't even think to yell at her. Danielle didn't want to hear Draco's claims that this was a bad idea. She already had enough doubt as it was.

"Rocky road," she mumbles and the gargoyle moves to allow her through. She hadn't let go of Draco's hand yet and she knew that was weird. But, she didn't want him trying to get away once she finally convinced him to come with her. This whole thing was nuts. Danielle's mind was just a mantra of 'Holy crap. Is this really happening?' She still couldn't believe that Draco had actually agreed to do this. He must have really been suffering to cave so easily. Danielle wondered what sort of mission or job he'd been struggling with this whole time. He was sure putting a lot of faith in her right now through. He had to have at least a little trust in her to let her talk him into something like this. It was surprising. It made her feel scared because now she was responsible for him. She hadn't lied to him though; she wasn't going to let Dumbledore send him to Azkaban. That wouldn't be right. She hesitated for only a second before knocking on the great wizard's door.

"Come in," She heard him say and Danielle felt Draco's hand squeeze onto hers. She didn't know what else to do but squeeze back and hope that it gave him some reassurance. She pushed open the door and walked into the room, dragging the terrified boy behind her. "Ah, Ms. Emmings, what a lovely surprise," Dumbledore stood from his desk and beckoned them in with a small smile. The small part of Danielle that had been afraid that Dumbledore would make Draco's situation worse completely disappeared then. Something about this old man just cleared your mind and made you feel better.

"Hello, headmaster" Danielle nods her head. She could feel Draco begin to tremble a bit violently again behind her.

"Is there something I can help you with dear?" Dumbledore asks.

"Well," Danielle meets Dumbledore's eyes, "remember how you told me not to hesitate to come to you if I had any more trouble with my potions partner?"

"Trouble aside from the fact that you are engaged to him, you mean?" Dumbledore nods his head in amusement, "Yes, I do remember."

"Well… it's a bit worse than even that" Danielle doesn't look at Draco as she tugs him forward so that he's next to her. She brings up his left arm and pulls up his sleeve so that the terrible mark was plain for Dumbledore to see. Danielle was taken aback by the lack of reaction in the headmaster's face. His eyes widened a little but no other emotion registered on his face. Draco was staring down at his feet and was shaking more than ever.

"I see," Was the first thing that the old man says. "That is troubling." He went silent for a moment before speaking again, "Before I ask you to wait outside for me to talk to Mr. Malfoy alone, I'd like to ask you something Ms. Emmings."

Danielle felt a bit nervous about leaving Draco but knew that he wasn't really her problem now. She'd given him his out and now he had to take it. "Yes, sir?" She asks.

"I'm curious, what was it you were hoping I'd do with your fiancé once you brought him to me?"

"I was hoping you'd save him," Danielle says it as if it was obvious and a smile grows on the old headmasters face and his blue eyes twinkle knowingly. Dumbledore then turns to Draco.

"Mr. Malfoy, please, take a seat" The headmaster motions to one of the big comfy looking chairs in front of his desk before sitting back down in his own. "Ms. Emmings, if you could just wait outside, I'd like to speak to you once more before you head back to your common room." Danielle nodded obediently and slipped back out of Dumbledore's office. She plopped down in one of the chairs outside his door and let out a sigh. The reality of everything that had just happened was sinking in even more now and the Ravenclaw girl felt extremely shaken up. Harry hadn't been kidding when he'd told her that the war was already starting. You-know-who was obviously recruiting more purebloods for his death eater army and it terrified Danielle. What else was brewing beneath the surface that she didn't know about? How many more of her classmates had the dark mark underneath their uniforms?

Danielle had to take a moment to reflect on her own actions as well. Had she done the right thing, bringing Draco to Dumbledore? Obviously the answer was yes. A million times, yes. For one, she wasn't about to let a death eater waltz around Hogwarts without telling anyone. And second, the look on Draco's face. She'd never forget it. The boy she'd found in the bathroom not even twenty minutes ago was clearly in way over his head. And it didn't matter how mean or cruel he'd been to her. That was all childish nonsense. The desperation on his face… that had been real. His tears had gone beyond petty arguments, name calling, and school yard fights. Danielle had looked into Draco Malfoy's face and saw the fear… the fear of having to look death in the face far too soon. And, despite everything he'd put Danielle and her friend's through, she knew that the boy didn't deserve such a fate.

Danielle didn't know how long she waited before Dumbledore called her back into the office but when he did, she walked in quietly and made her way over to the second chair in front of the headmaster's desk. She chanced a look at Draco who looked at least a little calmer now than he had when Dumbledore had asked her to step out of the room. His eyes were puffy and wet though indicating that he'd been brought to tears again while she'd been away. Finally, she turned to Dumbledore who looked extremely serious with his arms folded in front of him on the desk.

"I don't think that I need to tell to you how very serious this situation is," Dumbledore looks at her over his glasses. "I expect you've already come to realize this for yourself." Danielle just nods her head quickly. "What you've done for Mr. Malfoy tonight is truly honorable," He tells her. "But I'm afraid that what has occurred must remain between just the three of us. You told me you wished for his safety and to ensure that we must not let this sensitive information get out." Danielle almost felt relieved to be given this order. She'd been torn about what she was supposed to tell her friends later. Now she didn't have to tell them anything. She felt bad for lying and keeping secrets from them though.

"Headmaster," Danielle says hesitantly. "I understand and completely agree with you. But, Tracy, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione… even my sister. What should I tell them? They knew that I was going to find Draco when I left them at dinner. They'll know that something happened between us."

"I believe, with the history between the two of you, we can come up with something to tell them," Dumbledore says; not questioning Danielle at all on how she'd known to look for Draco in a girl's bathroom or how Harry and the others would know for sure that she'd been with him. Danielle wondered if he knew about Harry's special map of the school. "For now, perhaps, you two got into an argument about the engagement before coming to me to ask for advice on how to get out of the arrangement without upsetting your families."

"Alright," Danielle nods her head but felt overcome with guilt. Perhaps her Gryffindor friends would buy it but would Tracy? Her best friend would surely see right through her blatant lies.

"I know this is hard for you," Dumbledore tells her sadly. "I'm sorry for that. I know your experiences at Hogwarts have been less than pleasant so far. And because of that, it pains me to ask one other favor from you." To her left, Danielle saw Draco look down at his lap. Her stomach began to knot with nerves again. What was she going to be asked to do?

"What is it?" Danielle asks; wanting to prepare herself for the worst but not really knowing how much worse it could really get.

"I really do need your word that all of this will be kept a secret," Dumbledore says seriously. "The more you know, the more involved you'll be. I want you to understand this. But, it is my belief that, without you, I will not be able to help Mr. Malfoy." Danielle looked down and took a deep breath as she mulled this over. The less she knew the better off she was. She could walk away now, tell her friends a little lie, and go on with her life. But was that the truth? Could she walk away knowing she'd left Draco with such an uncertain future? Knowing that she could have helped, but didn't? But, on the other hand, if Danielle got herself even more tangled up in Draco's situation, she'd have to keep even more information from her friends. She'd be putting herself uncomfortably close to the war that Harry and Tracy had been warning her about. Danielle thought of what Tracy had said before, about all the terrible things you-know-who had done and what he would continue to do until he was stopped. What he was doing was wrong, and because of that, Tracy was willing to fight and endanger herself to change it. Wasn't this the same thing? What was happening to Draco was wrong and now Danielle was being given a chance to make a difference. She was being given an opportunity to save someone's life. The war had started and Danielle couldn't, in good consciousness, stand by and let Draco Malfoy be the first casualty.

"I…" Danielle looked over at her fiancé and caught his eyes. She could see that he was expecting her to throw him under the bus. She didn't have anything to gain by helping him so he figured she would just turn a blind eye to his misery; just like his parents had done to him on Christmas Eve by forcing him to ask a girl he hated to marry him and the same at the dinner party when they had him take the dark mark when he so clearly didn't want it. Wrong. The word wouldn't leave Danielle's head. It was all so wrong. No, she wasn't going to be like Draco's stupid parents. She wasn't a coward like them. Doing the right thing isn't always easy… and Danielle knew that what Dumbledore was going to ask of her wouldn't be easy. But it was right. Danielle had to do what was right. She turned back to Dumbledore, "what do you need me to do?"

* * *

"What on earth happened?" Tracy asks looking relieved to see Danielle come back into the common room. "You said you'd be right back! What took so long?"

"I'm sorry," was the first thing that came from the exhausted Ravenclaw girl's mouth. She walked over and fell into one of the chairs and closed her eyes. Her life had just gotten infinitely more complicated and she was still struggling with the decisions she had made.

"The others and I were freaking out!" Tracy's voice was raised but Danielle could tell it was out of worry and not anger. "We watched you on the marauders map! You went to Dumbledore! Filtch finally kicked us out of the great hall so I had to leave Harry and the others. You were gone for over an hour!"

"I know," Danielle groans, feeling the guilt pulse through her at the knowledge that she was about to lie to her best friend. "It was like Hermione said, when I popped in on him in the bathroom he went on the defensive. We got into a huge fight."

"Did he hurt you?" Tracy looked guilty now for sending her friend off alone and it made Danielle feel even worse.

"No," Danielle shook her head. "He… well, I started yelling at him about the engagement. You know; about how he hasn't even been trying to talk to his parents about it? He started getting mad at me then, too. You know how he is. Well, eventually I said that we should just go to Dumbledore."

"Why?" Tracy asks looking confused.

"His parents have been giving him a hard time about it," Danielle rattles off. "He doesn't want to marry me. We don't like each other. I just thought; why not get Dumbledore's opinion? The guy's brilliant, you know? He was bound to have some ideas."

"Did he have some?" Tracy questions and Danielle feels her stomach drop. She couldn't really say no. Of course Dumbledore wouldn't just turn her away with nothing. But if she said yes, Tracy would want to know what the ideas were.

"Well, he said he needed some time to think it over," Danielle shrugs. "You know, the Malfoys are supposed to be gaining a lot from this arrangement and they aren't going to give it up without getting something in return. Dumbledore wants to think of away to make the split peaceful, and to do it in a way where my Dad doesn't lose his business and my mom doesn't go bankrupt. He's just going to think about it and tell us once he's come up with a plan." Tracy frowned and Danielle felt like the girl was looking straight through her.

"So, you didn't find out why he's being looking so awful lately?" Tracy asks and Danielle curses inside her head.

"No," Danielle looks down at her lap. "All that just slipped my mind after Draco and I started fighting." Tracy lifted an eyebrow at her friend.

"So, he's back to Draco again?" She asks and Danielle covers her face with her hands. She had too much on her mind right now to have to put together a well thought out explanation for everything Tracy was asking her.

"I don't know. I'm just tired," Danielle shrugs. "I didn't expect to go through all this tonight. I can't even … I'm just tired." At least that was the truth.

"Ok," Tracy crosses her arms, "Did you at least find out what he was doing in that girl's bathroom?"

"He was hiding from Pansy," The words slipped out before Danielle could even think. She laughed at her own quickness to blame it on the annoying Slytherin girl. Tracy, thankfully, laughed too.

"You know, she'd probably have an easier time getting into Malfoy's pants if she played hard to get," Tracy smiles in amusement. "It's pretty bad if the guy you like has taken to hiding out in deserted bathrooms to get away from you."

"True that," Danielle smiles even though she really wanted to cry. Lying to her friend, that's what she was being forced to do. And this wasn't even the beginning. Danielle felt hatred for Draco's parents wash over her. It was their entire fault that she was now stuck in this rotten situation. Dumbledore had told Danielle that if the Malfoys were willing to accept his help, he could have helped them all without needing Danielle to do a thing. But as it was, Draco knew his parents would refuse the offer. Lucius and Narcissa would be furious if they knew what their son had done. They would see this as him betraying them and their precious dark lord. Of course, Draco could just accept Dumbledore's protection and leave his parents to their fate. But the boy couldn't do it. He cared about his parents. So, to keep Draco and his mom and dad safe, the boy had to continue to fulfill his duties to you-know-who for now. If anyone on his side found out that Draco had gone to Dumbledore and stopped working on his task, he and his parents would mostly likely be killed immediately for being traitors. The problem was that Draco was having trouble fulfilling his mission. If he failed, he'd also be killed. He needed help. This is where Danielle came in. Dumbledore could not risk getting more involved in Draco's situation than he already was. He could help from a distance, but Draco could get in even more trouble if someone noticed his increased contact with the headmaster. Therefore, Dumbledore had asked Danielle to help Draco complete his task instead.

Danielle remembered the nausea she'd felt when the wise old headmaster had dropped that bomb on her. Her first reaction had been to refuse. But, like she'd told herself before, what was right was not always easy. Helping Draco fulfill you-know-who's wishes was probably the hardest thing ever, but it was what was right. Dumbledore assured her that helping him wouldn't make her evil. It wouldn't make her a death eater. Helping Draco would make her, in fact, a brave girl who'd done everything she could to save Draco Malfoy's life. Danielle had been extremely hesitant to agree though, even with Dumbledore's attempts to ease her qualms. She'd finally caved after Dumbledore told her that there was nobody else to help him. Danielle was the only person who knew all the information and to bring in a fourth person made everything just that much riskier. "But if Draco can't do the mission, how will I?" Danielle had asked to which Dumbledore had smiled and told her, "Sometimes two heads are better than one, Ms. Emmings. You are an extremely intelligent young lady and even if it was safe for me to do so, I'd have a hard time finding someone better for this job than you." Danielle shook her head. How do you say no to something like that? So she agreed. And the worst part was, the headmaster had sent her on her way without even telling her what the mission was yet.

"Well," Tracy spoke and pulled Danielle from her thoughts. "You should know that Seamus came up to me after you left to ask when you'd be 'tutoring' him again."

"Why do you say tutoring like that?" Danielle asked, feeling flustered as Tracy just shrugs innocently. "You know I'm just helping him with his astronomy stuff."

"Yep," Tracy smiles, "Sure you are."

"Oh, come on" Danielle sighs as she holds up her hand, "engaged remember?"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

"I have a really bad feeling about what happened with Danielle and Malfoy the other day," Tracy tells Harry as they walk out to the Quidditch pitch a few days later to be alone.

"Well, Danielle said it wasn't a huge deal" Harry shrugs as he reaches over and take's the Ravenclaw girl's hand in his own, "They had a fight. It's not really that hard to believe. And yeah, going to Dumbledore is a bit extreme but… if Malfoy wasn't going to be able to get his parents to call off the engagement… maybe it was a good idea."

"I just feel like there is something she isn't telling me," Tracy looks down and kicks at the snow.

"Why would she lie to you though?" Harry looks over and bumps his shoulder into her playfully, "You guys are best friends."

"That's the thing," Tracy says with a hint of a smile. "She wouldn't lie to me. But I feel like she is. You don't think she caught Malfoy doing something really bad do you? Maybe he's threatening her not to tell anyone."

"I wouldn't put it past him to do that," Harry admits. "But they did go to Dumbledore. I saw them on the marauders map. Her story lines up with what I saw."

"She just… seemed so… I don't know," Tracy lets out a sigh. "I just hope she isn't in any trouble."

"If you're really worried about it, I'll keep an eye out on the map some more if you'd like" Harry offers. "Not to spy on Danielle, but to watch out for Malfoy."

"Alright," Tracy agrees. "It is Malfoy that I don't trust after all, not Danielle." The two walked in silence for a little while longer before Harry spoke up again.

"Anyway, Tracy, while we're on the subject of secrets and trust… there's something that I've got to tell you about," he says and Tracy looks over at her boyfriend in alarm. "It's nothing bad… well… for you… just. I wanted to tell you sooner but Dumbledore made me promise not to tell anybody but Ron and Hermione. He knows that I've been getting closer to you though and he's finally agreed to let me tell you."

"Is this about you going off after dinner sometimes?" Tracy asks, not knowing whether to feel excited or concerned.

"Yeah," Harry confesses, "You see, I've been taking private lessons with Dumbledore this whole year. We've been working together to try and figure out how to destroy Voldemort."

"How?" Tracy asks. She couldn't believe that Harry trusted her with information like this.

"We've been looking through people's memories of Voldemort," Harry explains to her. "They are memories that Dumbledore has been collecting for years. Some of them are from way before Voldemort even became the evil person he is now; back when he went to Hogwarts and everyone still called him by his real name; Tom Riddle."

"Oh, but Harry" Tracy feels completely overwhelmed by all of this. "Why do you have to do these lessons? I know that you're Harry Potter, but you're not even 17 yet. Not till this summer! You have a whole year of school left! I know you want to fight, I do too, but can't someone else help Dumbledore with this? Don't you have enough to worry about right now?"

"You know that they call me 'the chosen one' right?" Harry asks her sadly.

"Yeah, but that's just because of what happened when you were a baby. You're the face of hope. You were able to stop you-know-who in his tracks. The chosen one, it's just a title; it doesn't really… it doesn't imply that you have to try and do everything yourself," Tracy knew that Harry was important to the wizarding world. He was a smart, talented wizard. He was brave and strong. But this… this was crazy.

"It's not just a title," Harry tells her looking gloomy now. "Last year, I found out that there was a connection between me and Voldemort's minds. For some reason, I can sometimes tell what he's thinking or doing. I used to just think they where dreams… but they aren't. Dumbledore says it's because of what happened when I was a baby; that when the killing curse backfired, the connection between us opened. I knew that the death eaters were going to be in the ministry of magic last year because I saw it in my mind. They were there to steal something from the department of mysteries. I had to stop them, immediately. I didn't have time to warn anyone. I grabbed my friends and snuck out of Hogwarts."

"Harry, that's dreadful!" Tracy was astonished. She wondered what terrible things Harry had witnessed over the years. It must be dreadful to have such a terrible thing weighing on your mind all the time.

"Well, it gets worse," He frowns. "You see, what the death eaters were trying to steal… it was a prophecy; a prophecy that had been made before I was even born but involved both me and Voldemort. The prophecy was recorded and stored in the department of mysteries at the ministry of magic. Voldemort knew he had to steal it and find out what it said. He needed to know what to prepare himself for. That's why I went to go stop him."

"He didn't get it, did he?" Tracy asks pleadingly.

"No, he would have though" Harry looks at her, "if Lucius Malfoy hadn't dropped it."

"Malfoy's father was there?" Tracy gasps in horror, "But, you said the death eaters there had been arrested."

"Most of them," Harry frowns. "Malfoy's dad was able to get out before the aurors showed up."

"Oh that slimy little… ugh!" Tracy growled in anger and Harry laughed at her outburst.

"Don't you want to know what the prophecy said?" Harry asks her then and Tracy turns to him quickly.

"I thought he dropped it," She gasps. "You know what it said?"

"Dumbledore had heard the prophecy when it was first made," Harry tells her looking very grim. "He remembered it… and he told me."

"What is it, Harry?" Tracy asks even though she was a little unsure if she actually wanted to know. "What did it say?"

"Neither can live," Harry says warily, "While the other survives." Tracy feels tears fill her eyes as Harry continues. "I am the chosen one Tracy," He tells her. "Dumbledore told me that I had to be the one to kill Voldemort."

"Oh, Harry!" Tracy blinks to hold back her tears as she quickly throws her arms around the boy. She had no idea what to say to her boyfriend now. As sad as she was, she knew that Harry must be so scared. To have your whole life mapped out for you before you were even born was unimaginable. Tracy at least had a choice. She could choose to fight or not. Harry would have to face down the most powerful dark wizard the world had ever known whether he liked it or not. And if that weren't bad enough, it was a battle to the death. It was going to be a kill or be killed sort of thing for Harry Potter when the time came.

"I can understand," Harry then chokes out sounding close to tears himself as he hugs Tracy close, "If you don't want to be with me anymore now that you know. But, you can't tell anybody else about it. Not even Danielle. Dumbledore doesn't want a lot of people knowing. And really, I don't want anyone else knowing either. People treat me weird enough as it is."

"Don't be dumb Harry!" Tracy pulls away and wipes the tears from her eyes, "Of course I still want to be with you. I really like you! This just makes me want to fight harder! I want to do everything I can to help prepare you for this. I want you to live! I want you to win!" Harry's face splits into a huge grin and he pulls Tracy back in for another hug.

"Thank you," He says gratefully. "You have no idea how much your support means to me. I'm glad you finally know."

"I'm glad I know now too," Tracy says. "And as much as I hate keeping things from Danielle, I promise I won't tell her. She would understand. I know she would. She wants you to win too Harry, and she'd do anything she could to help you get through this thing; even if it means not knowing about it at all." The two continued to stand in their embrace until the cold winter air started to seep into their bones. Tracy couldn't believe how seriously involved Harry was in this war. Her boyfriend was extremely brave for being able to cope with such a prophecy so well. Tracy was going to do everything humanely possible to make sure he emerged from this war as the victor. The idea of fighting you-know-who was scary, but the idea of losing Harry was even worse.

* * *

"Explain it to me one more time," Seamus asks Danielle with his little accent and the girl sighs and leans over the map of the night sky.

"You see these three bright starts right here?" She asks and her Gryffindor friend nods, "That's the winter triangle. The bright star at the top is called Betelgeuse; and it's also the star that forms the arm on the Orion constellation. The star to the bottom right of the triangle is called Sirius which forms the chest of canis major. The star to the bottom left is Procyon and makes up a part of canis minor."

"How can you remember all of that?" Seamus asks looking completely overwhelmed.

"It's easy," Danielle assures him. "The winter triangle makes up Orion the hunter and his two dogs. You also need to know that the Milky Way runs right through the center of the winter triangle."

"Ugh," Seamus groans. "Ok, what's that long crazy one again?"

Danielle frowns, "Draco."

"What?" the Irish boy looks to Danielle in disgust.

"The constellation you just pointed to, it's Draco the dragon" Danielle then lets out a small laugh, "I guess that boy just won't leave me alone will he?" Seamus looks down at the ring on Danielle's hand.

"I thought you weren't going to be engaged to him for very long?" He asks sounding a little annoyed.

"Hopefully that's still the case," Danielle explains. "I mean, I don't want to marry him and he doesn't want to marry me. The whole engagement was arranged. It's our parents… well, Draco's parents mostly. We're trying to get out of it though."

"Why do you call him Draco?" Seamus asks then, still looking skeptic.

"That's his name," Danielle defends herself. "I call you, Harry, Hermione, Ron and everyone else by their first names. There isn't a specific reason why I do it; it's just what I do."

"So, you don't care that I'm not a pureblood?" Seamus asks hesitantly. Danielle was a bit surprised by this question. Hadn't she made her beliefs and opinions quite clear by now?

"Seamus, I wouldn't care if you were half troll," Danielle laughs a little. "I would still talk to you and hang out with you… as long as you were domesticated." Seamus bursts into laughter then.

"Aye, now that's funny!" He smiles, "You'll be glad to know I'm not half troll though. I imagine it'd be even harder to teach me astronomy if that were the case."

"Thank Merlin for small miracles," Danielle fully smiles now. "Now all I need to worry about is getting you through the semester without you blowing anything up!"

Seamus shakes his head in amusement, "I can't make you any promises. But since we don't use magic in this class, you should be safe."

"Tell that to your old star chart!" Danielle replies teasingly, "I still don't know how you managed to blast a hole through the thing."

"I'm just that talented," Seamus tells her proudly before they both began laughing again.

* * *

"So how's everything going with Seamus?" Tracy asks Danielle as they pack their books up and head out of their charms class the next day.

"Pretty good," Danielle tells her honestly. "He's pretty bad at all the astronomy stuff but he's fun to hang out with. He's really funny."

"Has he put the moves on you yet?" Tracy asks and Danielle feels her face heat up at her friend's blatant suggestion.

"No… not really," she replies before shaking her head. "He hasn't made any obvious indications that he likes me or anything, unless you count him asking about Draco and when the engagement is going to be called off."

"I guess he's sort of stuck," Tracy frowns. "He can't really do much when you're supposedly involved with another guy."

"Even if I wasn't, it'd be weird if he was trying to get with me already," Danielle fiddles with the strap of her messenger bag as they walk. "He hardly knows me." That last comment caused Tracy to frown and abruptly stop walking.

"Are you alright?" Danielle asks in confusion as she stops walking as well.

"Danielle, I need to tell you something," the girl says nervously and Danielle immediately feels concerned. "Come in here," Tracy commands as she turns and goes into the nearest empty classroom. Danielle hesitantly follows her, wondering what was going on. She didn't want any more bad news right now.

"What is it?" She asks Tracy after the door clicked shut.

"You're my best friend," Tracy begins, "And I don't want to keep secrets from you." Danielle is hit with a wave of guilt but also worry. Tracy was keeping something from her as well? "Harry told me something," Tracy goes on, "Something that I can't tell you. It isn't that I want to keep it from you, because I don't. But Dumbledore himself wants it to be kept a secret. I wasn't even supposed to know but Harry insisted that I be told."

Danielle just stares at her friend in complete shock. She wasn't angry. Actually, she was almost amused. Dumbledore had them all keeping secrets. "I just wanted to tell you that I did know something," Tracy continues after a moment. "I know I'm still technically keeping it from you but, I feel better if you know that I am and why I have to do it."

Danielle smiles a little. Her friend was seriously smart sometimes. Why hadn't she thought to tell Tracy about her agreement with Dumbledore in this way? It would have saved her a lot of guilt. "I understand," Danielle replies, "I guess I'll come clean with you now as well. I know something that I'm not allowed to tell anybody either."

"I knew you were hiding something," Tracy states proudly. She didn't sound accusing at all which Danielle was thankful for.

"Weird thing is, it's Dumbledore who's told me to keep my mouth shut as well," a weight lifted off of Danielle's chest at the confession.

"Really?" Tracy asks looking relieved as well and a little amused. "Wow. It's about Malfoy isn't it? Can you tell me that?"

"Yeah, it's about him" Danielle admits without hesitation. It was already obvious that Draco was involved since she'd gone with him to Dumbledore just a few days ago.

"Wow," Tracy repeats and crosses her arms. "This is crazy. I can't even imagine what sort of secret you and Dumbledore could have about Malfoy."

"Trust me, knowing Harry's secret is probably a lot better than knowing Draco's," Danielle grimaced as she thinks of helping a death eater complete his mission for you-know-who. Yeah, knowing Harry's secret would bring her closer to him and her other friends. Knowing Draco's secret isolated her from them.

"Well," Tracy looks at her friend sadly, "it is Dumbledore that wants you to keep the secret though right? Malfoy's not threatening you or anything?"

"I promise I'm doing this for Dumbledore" Danielle nods feeling thankful that her friend was being so understanding.

"Alright," Tracy concedes before looking at her friend seriously, "just promise me that you'll be careful. I don't trust Malfoy, even if Dumbledore is in on whatever it is."

"Yeah…" Danielle frowns, "You should be careful too. I trust Harry, of course, but … I know what sort of stuff he gets into. It's not always butterflies and rainbows." Tracy laughs and nods in agreement.

"This is pretty awful though, isn't it?" Tracy asks, "Two best friends being forced to keep secrets of this magnitude from each other? Hogwarts is really trying to test us."

"Yeah, I hate it" Danielle agrees before smiling when Tracy playfully pushes her in the arm.

"We're not going to stand for it though," The girl declares. "It takes more than a couple of secrets to get between us!"

"That's right," Danielle holds her head up, feeling some of the stress from the past couple days melt away at her friend's statement. She realized now that she didn't have to be alienated from the people around her because of this. She wasn't lying to her friend because she wanted to and now Tracy knew that. The secrets didn't have to ruin the trust they had built. Both Tracy and Danielle could feel better now that they had come to this understanding.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

"Hello," Draco says awkwardly when Danielle comes into their potions class and sits next to him.

"Hi," Danielle says and opens her potions book to try and avoid eye contact with the boy. This was her first time seeing him since they had parted ways after everything that had happened in Dumbledore's office. It was weird interacting with him at all now that she knew what was lying beneath his sleeve. She wasn't sure how to act around him. She couldn't just go back to normal. Their whole relationship had been altered. There was no way Danielle could behave the same after seeing him the way she had in the bathroom. She finally just turns around in her seat to see how Tracy was doing around Blaise. They had a pretty awkward relationship now too.

"You told her didn't you?" Draco accuses and Danielle turns back to him. He looked angry but she could tell that it was all a façade. She knew that behind the mask, he was terrified. If Danielle had told anybody that he was a death eater, they'd most likely turn him right in to the ministry who would send him straight to Azkaban. Not that he'd be there for very long, Danielle thinks bitterly; the dementors would probably just let him walk right back out once he got there.

"No, I didn't" Danielle answers him, sounding offended even though she understood why he wouldn't trust her. Draco didn't seem to have much experience with loyalty, "I promised Dumbledore I wouldn't tell anyone! You know that!"

"But you're friends with her," He growls while tilting his head toward Tracy.

"Yes I am. But I'm not stupid. She's dating Harry Potter." Danielle replies, "If HE found out… well, he wouldn't hesitate to get you into trouble."

"So you were serious then? About helping me?" He whispers, leaning in closer to Danielle who was taken aback by the desperation that could be heard in his voice even though his tired face remained neutral.

"Only because Dumbledore thinks I should," Danielle frowns, "I'm not exactly jumping for joy about it though." They both looked up as Snape walks in and heads up towards the front of the class, calling for quiet so he could start the lesson.

"Meet me in front of the room of requirement tonight after dinner," Draco continues to whisper and leans closer to Danielle, "You know where that is, right?"

"Uh, no." Danielle tells him honestly, a feeling of dread overtaking her. She had heard Harry talk about the room of requirement with Ron and Hermione a few times but they never mentioned where it was exactly. The only thing she knew was that being alone in that room with a death eater would be dangerous. Once she was inside, nobody would be able to find her.

"It's on the seventh floor by a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy," Draco whispers then looks up to notice that the room was completely silent and everyone was staring at them. Snape was standing over them with a raised eyebrow.

"You two seem to be getting along better," Snape sneers down at Danielle. "Care to share with the rest of us what is so important?"

"Wedding stuff," Draco answers before Danielle could and sends her an uncharacteristic grin before looking up at Snape. "We're engaged you know professor?" Danielle would have rather told the class the truth about her helping Draco to do the dark lord's bidding than strengthen people's assumptions that she was so excited to marry the blonde Slytherin that she'd discuss wedding plans with him so freely during class.

"Yes, I've heard a rumor to that effect," Snape snarls, "And I do wonder what value old Lucius saw in _this_ match, such an interesting choice of bride for a MALFOY."

Every Slytherin in the room began howling with laughter and Danielle felt completely humiliated. It was one thing to be teased and looked down upon by her classmates, but Snape was her teacher. Sure he was the head of Slytherin house, but Danielle was getting top marks in his class without even receiving help from her partner. He should be able to keep his negative opinions of her to himself instead of encouraging the Slytherin's who had now started turning to each other and whispering while shooting glares in Danielle's direction. Pansy Parkinson was beside herself with glee. Danielle was blindsided by a wave of anger. She was sick of being treated in this way. It wasn't her fault. She slammed her fists on her desk and shoved her chair back so she could stand up. Snape turned to her in surprise and the room had gotten quiet again. Tracy looked worried about what her friend might do but Draco was looking up at her curiously.

"Go ahead and keep laughing!" Danielle shouts before looking directly at Pansy and holding up her hand for all to see, "Insult me and glare at me all you want because in the end, I'M the one who's wearing the ring! And I feel sorry for all you stuck up, pureblood, Slytherin girls who have to sit and watch jealously as I get to enjoy all the perks of being betrothed to the man you've all been tripping over yourselves to be with for the entirety of your pathetic one tracked lives!"

The room remained quiet for a second before erupting into chaos. Danielle knew that what she had said was a little underhanded but was filled with satisfaction anyway when she saw Pansy begin to shake with anger. These Slytherins had been nothing but cruel to her from the moment she had arrived at Hogwarts. Danielle hadn't ever done anything to deserve the harsh treatment and really, she hadn't really said anything just now that wasn't true.

"Enough!" Snape shouts loudly after a moment and Danielle prepares to have house points taken away or detentions given to her. Not only had she just caused a huge disruption in class, she'd done it in front of a teacher who hated her. Snape turned to look at her and she returned his gaze confidently. "Please, Ms. Emmings, sit down." She obeyed at once.

"Today we will be working on a love potion called Amortentia," Snape turned away and continued class as if nothing had happened. Danielle couldn't believe it. She looked over at her potions partner and was even more shocked to see him trying to hold back a smile. Irritation at him bubbled up.

"What?" She hissed feeling a little upset. After everything she was going to do for him, he still had the gall to laugh at her along with the rest of his barbaric housemates.

"That was awfully Slytherin of you" He answers before finally allowing a triumphant smirk to grow on his face. Danielle frowns and wonders if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult. She decides to ignore him and continue to be annoyed. She was pretty successful until Snape awarded her 15 house points for successfully brewing the most powerful love potion in the world. Danielle had no idea what had caused that sudden stroke of kindness. Was she getting a taste of the power she'd have if she married Draco; dodging punishment and gaining Snape's favor because of her fiancé's last name? Danielle felt annoyed with herself now for ever losing her temper. She didn't want anyone thinking she actually wanted to be engaged to Draco because she could utilize the bias towards the Malfoy name to her advantage. Danielle hoped that her outburst hadn't caused the Slytherin's and her own housemates to hate her even more.

* * *

"You should have seen Pansy's face," Tracy tells the Gryffindors in amusement at dinner that night. They were at the Ravenclaw table, which was the usual now that Danielle wasn't welcomed at the Gryffindor table. Danielle was glad to see that her housemates weren't sending glares over at her or anything because of the way she'd acted today. She supposed they couldn't really be angry with her about being engaged to Draco anymore since it had benefited them. Snape had never given them house points before. "I thought she was going to explode after Snape just began the lesson without telling Danielle off at all," Tracy went on causing Ron to erupt into laughter. "All the Slytherin girls looked furious!"

Danielle was glad that her friends were finding this amusing but wasn't that comfortable with the fact that Draco had seemed to get some sort of joy out of it as well. She didn't want him to see anything Slytherin in her. This is why they hated each other in the first place, because she didn't act like a proper pureblood girl.

"It's just funny that they're so jealous of you," Ron laughs. "They want Malfoy so bad yet you'd be glad to be rid of him."

"Ain't that the truth," Danielle mutters when suddenly she feels at tap on her shoulder. She looks up to see Seamus standing behind her.

"Sorry to bug you Danielle," He mumbles looking a little nervous. "I was just wondering if you were free to work on Astronomy stuff tonight." Danielle groans and looks over at the Slytherin table. Draco was sitting near the end closest to the exit looking tired and anxious.

"I'm sorry," Danielle looks back to the Gryffindor boy with a frown. "I can't do anything tonight." She saw a look of disappointment cross Seamus' face.

"What plans do you have?" Harry asks her curiously. Apparently he was supported Danielle and Seamus' friendship.

"Well," Danielle racked her brain for something to say. She looked to Tracy who suddenly widened her eyes in realization. Danielle had to do something with Draco? The girl hadn't said anything before about having to actually spend time with the Slytherin boy. That made Tracy nervous but she had to trust her friend.

"You know how Malfoy's been falling asleep in his classes and everything?" Tracy asks the three Gryffindors who nod. "Well, Snape's finally decided not to let it slide anymore. He's ordered Malfoy to do extra work outside of class to make up for everything he hasn't done. And he's making Danielle help him."

"Oh, you're kidding!" Hermione looked outraged, "That's not fair at all! You've done all your work Danielle! You shouldn't have to be punished for Malfoy's laziness!"

"Well, I'm his partner," Danielle shrugs and sends a thankful look to her best friend. Tracy could be quite clever sometimes. Now Ron, Hermione, and Harry couldn't even question her if they noticed her spending extra time with Draco. "I don't have a choice. Who else is going to help him?"

"Blimey," Seamus looked extremely upset. "You were right when you said that miserable git just wouldn't leave you alone."

"I know," Danielle sighs. "But if you're free this weekend, maybe we could meet up then."

"Really?" Seamus brightened up at the suggestion and Danielle nods her head. "Alright! That sounds great! We can decide on a time later." Danielle agrees before Seamus goes back over to the Gryffindor table.

"Poor Seamus," Hermione frowns before eyeing Danielle. "I just can't believe Snape's making you do this."

"Yeah," Danielle says as she pokes down at her food. "Me either.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

When Danielle parted with her friends after dinner to go find the room of requirement, her stomach began twisting nervously. She was about to find out what the job was that Draco had to do in order to please you-know-who. Danielle wished she could just go work on astronomy with Seamus instead of this but she knew that was out of the question. She had promised Dumbledore that she would help Draco. Danielle just hoped that Dumbledore was right to send her into the room of requirement with the boy alone. Draco had seemed to honestly need her help though. He wouldn't hurt the one person who might be able to keep him and his family alive. When she finally found her fiancé leaning against a wall on the seventh floor, he looked as nervous as she felt.

"Hey," He says without meeting her eyes.

"Hi," Danielle replies awkwardly. Draco lets out a sigh before starting to pace back and forth down the hall with his eyes closed. Danielle thought he'd lost his mind until she sees a door materialize in the wall in front of her.

"Incredible," Danielle gasps, forgetting her nerves for a moment.

"They call it the 'come and go room'," Draco shrugs as he pulls the door open and gestures for her to go inside. "It changes itself according to a person's needs."

"Wow," Danielle slowly makes her way into the room and looks around in awe. She felt a little bit confused because at the moment, the room seemed to be filled to the brim with useless garbage. Draco led her through the winding paths until stopping in front of an old cupboard.

"This is my mission," He says as he points to the broken piece of furniture. Danielle looked at him skeptically when he mutters, "I have to fix it."

"You have to fix a cupboard?" Danielle asks reluctantly.

"It's a vanishing cabinet," He clarifies. Danielle notices the strain in his voice and instantly understands why Draco had looked so stressed and worn out lately. Fixing a vanishing cabinet was definitely no easy feat.

"Why do you have to fix it?" Danielle asks as she runs her hands over the doors curiously. She had never seen a vanishing cabinet before but she'd heard about them. They were extremely rare.

"I'm not sure if I should tell you," He answers her quietly. "Dumbledore knows everything but he said it might be better if you didn't."

"What?!" Danielle asks feeling instantly angry.

"He said that if you knew, you might be more reluctant to help" Draco explains warily, "If you really want to know I'll tell you but I think you might feel better not knowing." Danielle had to admit that what Draco said made sense. Danielle knew that if whatever this vanishing cabinet was going to be used for was extremely horrible, she would have a hard time helping Draco fix it. Danielle knew about some of the terrible things vanishing cabinets had been used for in the past and didn't feel very excited about fixing this one for the most evil man that had ever existed.

"Okay," She concedes after a moment before looking to Draco seriously. "You've been to the library right?" Draco nods his head eagerly. He looked incredibly relieved to know that she was really going to help him; like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I've been in there a hundred times," He tells her, "but I haven't found anything useful."

"Do you know what happened to it?" Danielle asks him as she looks over the cabinet some more. It didn't have any obvious damage that she could see.

"I remember it used to be displayed out in the school," Draco explains, "Some students were messing around and knocked it over a few years ago though. That's when it stopped working and was thrown in here with the rest of the school's trash" He waved his arm around the room and Danielle took a second to look around at all the broken desks, melted cauldrons, and other useless junk.

"Vanishing cabinets are very temperamental. The magic used on them is extremely complex," Danielle looks back to her potions partner, "It's no wonder you're having so much trouble fixing it."

"We'll be able to fix it though, right?" Draco then asks her urgently, "You've got to have some idea of what to do." Danielle turns to the boy feeling uncomfortable with the way he was talking to her. She was used to him insulting her and trying to piss her off. Now he was talking to her gently, like he was walking on eggshells; like if he made any sudden movements, she'd change her mind and leave him alone with the cabinet again.

"You should make a list of everything you've already tried for me," Danielle suggests. "That'll give me something to go off of so that we don't waste a bunch of time back tracking."

"I can do that," He tells her before looking down at his feet. It was weird for Danielle to see this vulnerable side to Draco. She wondered how many people had ever seen him like this.

"Well, until you do that I'm not sure we should mess with it," Danielle says to break the awkward silence. Draco didn't say anything causing Danielle to shift nervously, "Ok well, if that's it, I guess I'll just get back to my common room."

"Wait," Draco says loudly which startles Danielle. "Why are you doing all of this? Why would you help me after everything that's happened between us? I know you don't like me, and you should hate me even more now that you know what I am."

Danielle had to think for a moment before she could respond to that. She still did dislike Draco. But she didn't think telling him that was the right way to reply. She could tell him that it was because of Dumbledore's urging that she'd agreed to help but that didn't seem all that great a comeback either.

"It's funny," She finally says, "how it isn't until after you receive the dark mark that I get to see how truly un-evil you are." Draco looks embarrassed by her words. Danielle felt a little weird about it too. It had sort of just slipped out.

"Well, it's funny to me how it isn't until after I'm forced to put a ring on your finger that I get to see how extremely Slytherin you can be," was Draco's reply and Danielle actually laughs. This was better. Maybe they could actually start an argument. That would at least be better than Draco being all quiet and weird. "Holding the power and wealth of my name over those girls' heads in potions today after you gave me such a hard time for doing the same thing," He shakes his head at Danielle in mock disappointment.

"Well, unlike you, I wasn't bragging," Danielle crosses her arms, wondering if she and Draco were actually getting along right now. "I'm not actually getting any of the perks that I told them I was. I just wanted them to leave me alone for once. Trust me, if I could take this ring off and give it to Pansy Parkinson right now I would."

"Then I'm glad you can't take it off," Draco looks appalled by Danielle's declaration, "As if I'd ever be engaged to that clingy bint."

"Oh really?" Danielle laughs, "You were the one that was all about having her before. What happened to wanting someone who'd keep their mouth shut and do everything they were told?"

"Well, it's the keeping her mouth shut that Pansy has trouble with," Draco grumbles and Danielle can't help but burst out laughing. Draco looked shocked that Danielle had actually found humor in something that he had said.

"That's so mean Draco, honestly" Danielle reins in her laughter and looks at the boy seriously.

"I wasn't aware that you thought I was nice," He challenges.

"Whatever," Danielle scoffs, "Still, I'd figured Pansy would at least be a more desirable choice than me."

"At least you have a working brain," Draco frowns. "Pansy knows that I'm engaged, yet she still follows me around like a lost puppy, batting her eyes and talking to me in that high pitched girly voice. It's pathetic and annoying. She accuses you of being after my money like she isn't after the very same thing."

"I confess myself impressed," Danielle tells Draco then. "After everything you told me at your Christmas party, I didn't think you held any value for women of substance."

"Well, I wasn't about to admit to you that you were right, was I?" He concedes with a cocky smirk.

"Touché," Danielle lets out a laugh.

"And speaking of people with substance, or in this case, the lack thereof" Draco then raises his eyebrows. "Exactly what was that cad, Finnigan, doing at the Ravenclaw table talking to you earlier?"

Danielle narrows her eyes. Ok, he'd gone too far now. "You leave him alone, Draco. He just wanted to know when I had time to see him." The familiar scowl appears on the Slytherin's face. "I've just been tutoring him!" Danielle clicks her tongue at the boy, "For goodness sakes, calm down! Someone might actually think you're jealous!"

"I'm not jealous; I just don't want you…"

"Soiling your name, I know" Danielle waves him off before mumbling, "Don't worry, I won't be running off with any Gryffindor boys… at least not until this whole engagement thing is called off."

"And what if it doesn't get called off?" Draco asks darkly and Danielle feels her temper flare.

"It will," Danielle says firmly, "I'm not marrying you. Don't even make insinuations like that. We'll find a way out of this so your parents can find you a different, more qualified girl, to be your wife."

"How qualified do you really need to be to pop out a son and dote on your husband?" Draco asks and Danielle just gapes at him.

"I can't believe you just said that!" She gasps in shock, "That's just… there are no words. Draco Malfoy, you-know-who himself couldn't make me say 'I do' to you. I'll chop off my own finger to be rid of this ring if that's what it comes down to."

"That's a little extreme," Draco says in monotone.

"I don't care," Danielle states.

"I don't know why you get so worked up over this," Draco then crosses his arms. "We'll figure out the engagement later. For now, the cabinet is the most important thing."

"Oh really?! I really doubt that whatever terrible thing you are bringing into or taking out of this school with that stupid cabinet is more important than me being stuck as your wife for the rest of my life!" Danielle challenges.

"Mine and my parent's lives are depending on the success of this task! We can deal with the marriage situation after! Unless, you are hoping my family and I are killed off so that you'll be off the hook!" Draco accuses through clenched teeth.

"I wouldn't be helping you at all if I wanted you dead!" Danielle argues, "I just don't want to marry you!"

Draco just frowned and narrowed his eyes at her. Danielle didn't understand why Draco was making such a big deal about her not wanting to be engaged to him. She knew he was just as eager to end the thing as she was. Danielle knew that fixing the cabinet was important, but did marriage really hold such little importance to Draco that their engagement wasn't weighing on his mind at least a little bit still? "Just let me know when you've put the list together," Danielle says, "Bye." She then turned around and walked away from Draco without another word. She wasn't sure how she was going to get anywhere with this task if she and Draco couldn't even get along when they were in the same room together.


	22. Chapter 22

**Hey everyone! I just wanted to take a moment to say that I'm really happy with the amount of people who have been reading this story so far. Thank you so much to those who have stuck around and read all the way up to this point! I haven't had any reviews yet, which is fine by me, but it would be sort of cool to hear what you all are thinking. Who is everyone's favorite character? Any surprises so far? I'm just curious :) But anyway, I won't hold you guys up any longer. Enjoy the next chapter!**

Chapter Twenty Two

"So, guess what?" Danielle asks her friends a few days later, "I got a letter from my mom this morning." She was finally sitting back at the Gryffindor table because Seamus had asked her to. He told her to just ignore the accusatory glares that she got from his classmates, so she did; or at least she tried. She didn't like upsetting the Gryffindors but Danielle had already been feeling guilty lately for making Ron, Hermione, and Harry sit at the Ravenclaw table. She had told the trio that they didn't have to but they refused to make her eat alone. They had inconvenienced themselves by sitting with her, so now she was returning the favor.

"Has the engagement been called off?" Seamus asks eagerly.

"No," Danielle frowns. "But, the Malfoy's have finally bought my old house from my mother which means I finally have some money back in my bank account."

"It's pretty annoying that we actually have to feel happy about that," Abby tells her sister irritably. "We should have never had to worry about there not being any money in there to begin with."

"Won't you get everything back once the engagement is called off anyway?" Seamus then asks curiously.

"Probably not," Hermione states sadly. "Her father might be able to break off the deal with Malfoy's father, but Danielle's mom will have a heck of a time finding someone with enough money to buy that manor from her so that she can get all that money back."

"I doubt they ever actually cared if your mother lived in a suitable home or not," Tracy pipes in then. "I bet they were only ever interested in the share in your dad's business."

"Why would the Malfoys make Danielle's mom buy a new mansion then?" Ron asks in confusion.

"To make Danielle and her family financially dependent on them," Hermione explains. "Like I said before, because Danielle's mom bought the manor, it isn't as easy as just trading everything back. They've made it so that Danielle can't back out of the arrangement easily."

"Gosh," Seamus turns to his tutor sadly, "Why'd you ever let him put that ring on ya, Danielle? And now you've got to pick up his slack in his classes too?"

"I should have listened to Harry when he told me not to go to that party," Danielle looks to her friend's boyfriend. "This is my punishment for not listening to the boy who lived."

"Not even I thought it would end up this bad," Harry tells as he pats her on the arm. "But don't worry; the Malfoys will get what's coming to them." Danielle secretly hoped that that wasn't true. It was the thing she had told Dumbledore that she would try and prevent.

"Yeah," Ron nods his head in agreement, "one day this will all just make for a great story. We'll all sit around and ask, remember when Danielle was engaged to Draco Malfoy? We'll all have a good laugh before reminiscing about the time he was transfigured into a ferret."

"Malfoy got transfigured into a ferret?" Abby asks looking immediately thrilled.

"It was during the triwizard tournament our forth year," Hermione explains with a smirk. "Malfoy came up and started terrorizing Harry, as usual, when the defense against the dark arts professor at the time walked up and caught him red handed. As a punishment, he turned Malfoy into a ferret and began bouncing him around the entrance hall for everyone's entertainment." Abby and Tracy burst into laughter then. Harry and Ron chuckled at the memory as well.

"He must have been so embarrassed," Danielle points out and Ron nods his head.

"You should have seen his face!" Ron goes red then as another fit of laughter overtakes him. Danielle just shakes her head. She couldn't believe a teacher had done something so humiliating to Draco. It was funny, to be sure. But still, a small part of Danielle felt bad for the guy.

* * *

"What the hell is this, Emmings?" Draco asks as he examines a book that Danielle had brought with her into the room of requirement. "Is this some sort of a joke?" The girl instantly feels offended.

"No!" She frowns at him.

"I'm not that Finnigan idiot, I don't need help understanding the universe!" Draco rolls his eyes before tossing the book into one of the piles of burnt up, chewed up, and torn up textbooks nearby.

"First of all, Seamus isn't an idiot!" Danielle snaps as she stomps over and picks the book back up, "And second, I was trying to think outside of the box." Draco just looks at her with his eyebrows raised.

"It's just a bunch of muggle rubbish," He says.

"Physics isn't rubbish!" Danielle declares, "Besides, this book was written by a wizard! It talks about different modes of magical transportation and the science behind things like port keys and apparition."

"Fascinating," Draco says sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "I knew hanging around those Gryffindors was bad for you. You're starting to sound like that mudblood Granger."

"Stop calling her that!" Danielle hits Draco in the shoulder with the book lightly, "I'm not even asking you to be nice to her or even stop calling her names. Just, please stop saying that word!" Draco stares at Danielle for a moment in thought.

"Whatever," he says. "What do port keys and apparition have to do with the vanishing cabinet anyway?"

"Well, they're all fairly similar, are they not?" Danielle asks him, "Transporting something from one place to another almost instantly? That's what we're trying to do, correct?"

"Yes!" Draco looks annoyed at having to tell her she's right. He glares once at her before snatching the book back out of her hands, "Where did you even get this?"

"It was in the library," Danielle states proudly. "Tracy's brother, Josh, recommended it."

"You told him?!" Draco suddenly raises his voice and takes a threatening step towards Danielle to try and scare her, "Are you trying to get me sent to Azkaban?"

"Back off!" Danielle snaps back and pushes the boy away from her roughly, "I didn't tell him anything! He thinks I'm doing a report on transportation for a muggle studies class. He works with the stuff for a living! You should know that since you make it your job to know everyone's business!"

"And what if your mail had been intercepted?" Draco questions her in irritation.

"They wouldn't have found anything of interest," Danielle defends herself. "I never mentioned anything about you or the vanishing cabinet. And it isn't like it's suspicious for me to ask Josh for help with something for school. He's my best friend's brother and he's extremely smart!"

"Well, next time tell me before you do something like that!" Draco growls out.

"Or maybe you should just cool your jets and have a little faith in me," Danielle challenges, "I understand the danger you're in Draco. I'm putting myself in danger too by helping you. I'm aware that I need to be careful!"

"Fine," Draco replies tersely before flipping open the book. "Let's just get started."

* * *

"Danielle's off working with Malfoy again?" Ron asks in disbelief when Tracy shows up to hang out with the Gryffindors alone.

"That's the third time this week, isn't it?" Harry frowns before kissing his girlfriend on the cheek as a greeting.

"I know," Tracy sighs. "Snape wasn't kidding about making Malfoy make up all the work he missed."

"I still can't believe Snape is getting away with making Danielle help him," Hermione declares. "If Malfoy takes up any more of Danielle's time, she'll start having trouble keeping up with her own work."

"She'll manage," Tracy reassures her friends even though she was starting to worry about Danielle as well.

"Well, since she isn't here," Ron shrugs, "Harry, why don't you tell Tracy what you and Dumbledore found out last night."

"Oh yeah," Hermione frowns, "It's just horrible."

"What is it?" Tracy asks nervously.

"We've found out how Voldemort was able to come back after his killing curse backfired," Harry explains to her, "the reason why he hasn't been able to be killed. He's been making horcruxes." Tracy could hear the despair in Harry's voice and see the dread in her friend's faces.

"What's a horcrux?" she asks hesitantly.

"Oh, they're terrible things," Hermione cries, "made with incredibly dark magic."

"Basically," Harry says grimly, "Voldemort has ripped his soul into pieces and hid them in objects to protect them. That way, whenever anything happens to his body, his soul will live on."

"Is that even possible?" Tracy asks feeling sick to her stomach, "Can you actually rip your own soul apart? I've never heard of anything like that before."

"It's possible," Hermione frowns, "But it isn't easy, and it's dangerous. The more a soul is broken down, the more unstable it is."

"Dumbledore seems to think that you-know-who's made seven all together," Ron adds on.

"So, he's invincible?" Tracy asks, feeling terrified by just the mere thought.

"No," Harry shakes his head. "If we can find and destroy all the horcruxes, we can destroy Voldemort."

"But how could someone find them all?" Tracy asks, feeling more distraught now, "You-know-who could have turned anything into a horcrux, couldn't he? It could take forever to hunt them all down!"

"Dumbledore told Harry that the horcruxes will be objects that you-know-who values," Ron explains with a shrug, "That should narrow it down at least a little bit."

"And you'll be pleased to know that two of them have already been found. One of them is even destroyed!" Harry puts his arm around the Ravenclaw girl to comfort her.

"Really?" she asks him in shock, "How?"

"Remember the diary I told you about?" Harry asks, "The one that possessed Ginny back when the chamber of secrets was opened?"

"The diary was a horcrux?" Tracy gasps in amazement.

"Yes," Harry confirms. "Of course, I didn't know it at the time; nobody did. But I destroyed it by stabbing it with one of the fangs off that huge snake that had been down there."

"Wow," Tracy sighs. "And what was the second one?"

"You-know-who's family ring," Hermione replies, "A Riddle family heirloom."

"Dumbledore just recently found it," Ron adds cheerfully. "He has no idea how to destroy it though."

"Does Dumbledore have any idea where the other ones might be? Or what they are?" Tracy asks them excitedly.

"He has a few hunches," Harry nods. "But studying those memories I told you about should give us some more clues."

"This is just mind blowing," Tracy confesses as she tries to wrap her mind around everything she'd just learned. These horcruxes sounded absolutely terrible. To rip your own soul apart was monstrous. Only someone as messed up in the mind and evil as you-know-who could do something like that.

"Yeah, and there's something else Tracy," Harry sounded hesitant now. "Dumbledore promised to take me with him the next time he finds one." Tracy immediately felt a mix of emotions about that bit of news.

"Is that dangerous?" She asks.

"Yes," Hermione answers sternly before Harry had a chance to speak. "And I'm sure you'll agree with me that it's stupid for Harry to go."

"Aw come on," Ron groans. "You're just jealous because you don't get to go."

"No I'm not, Ronald!" Hermione snaps, "Those horcruxes are dangerous! Don't you remember what happened with that diary, Harry? It defended itself! It nearly killed you and Ginny! And you're delusional if you think you-know-who has just left these things lying around for just anyone to find! They'll be heavily guarded!"

"Harry…" Tracy begins, not liking the sound of what Hermione was describing at all.

"Tracy," Harry stops her before she can voice her objections. "I'll be with Dumbledore! I'll be safe with him!"

"I know Harry, but you can't stop us from worrying about you," Tracy tells him; deciding not to argue. "I know that I can't stop you from going; it's your choice. But, promise me you'll be careful!"

"I will," He promises, but it does little to ease Tracy's fears. She was starting to understand why Harry had warned her so long ago about being friends with him. It hadn't just been about being dragged into the war or having to face dangerous enemies, it was also about accepting who Harry was and knowing she couldn't interfere in what he had to do.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

Danielle stifles a yawn as she tries her best to stay awake and take notes on the plant properties that Snape was currently lecturing on. Draco had succumbed to his fatigue a while ago and now lay sleeping next to her. They had been in the room of requirement until well past curfew the night before and the evidence of their lack of sleep was clear in their appearance today. Danielle had begged Draco over and over to give it up for the night but he had been insistent that they keep working. They had come up with several ideas from the book Danielle had found and the Slytherin was anxious to try them all out. It was exhausting though to try and put in as many hours as Draco wanted.

It was obvious that the boy was obsessed with fixing the cabinet. Nothing else mattered to him. And the longer they worked and the more ideas that failed, the more driven Draco became; and the more stressed. It was wearing the poor guy down. It was obvious by his tired, malnourished, and sickly appearance. Danielle could see that he was even starting to lose weight. He was overworking them both. But Danielle couldn't blame him because his life was at stake, after all. And so were the lives of his parents. She'd probably be the same way if it were her own family on the line. Still though, Danielle wished she'd have gotten more sleep last night.

"Are you sure those two aren't seeing each other in secret?" Tracy was startled by Blaise finally interrupting their awkward silence. It was nice to finally have him talk to her again but she wished he would have asked her anything else. It was bad enough that she had to make up stories to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. She didn't want to have to come up with a cover story for Blaise too.

For a moment, Tracy thought about telling Blaise that he was right. That would be the easiest thing. Everyone in the school knew that Danielle and Draco were engaged by now so it wouldn't be a huge shock if it were to get around that the two were spending their nights together. But, Tracy couldn't do that to her friend, even though it was really odd that she was with him so much lately. What could Dumbledore possibly have those two doing that was so secret?

"They both look pretty worn out," Blaise continues suggestively. "And Draco didn't come back in last night until almost two in the morning." Tracy could still think of nothing to say even though she had to say something. Her silence would only confirm Blaise's lewd assumptions. But she knew Danielle hadn't come back until the early morning hours either. She was spending almost all her free time with Draco and Tracy had no way to explain it.

"I think Danielle might just be coming down with something," Tracy finally decides to say. "I don't know what's wrong with Malfoy. Couldn't you just ask him about it yourself?"

"No," Blaise tells her plainly. "What he does with his fiancée is none of my business."

"He isn't doing anything with her," Tracy says irritably. "Danielle hates Malfoy and he hates her too." Blaise pauses for a moment and Tracy thinks that perhaps he's done talking to her.

"I heard that Finnigan bloke has his eye on her" he says after the silence had become awkward enough.

"And why would you care one way or another?" Tracy was starting to wish Blaise had never initiated conversation in the first place. She didn't want to discuss Danielle's love life with him.

"I don't, but Malfoy seems too," was the quick reply.

"Yeah right," Tracy frowns at the Slytherin's tiny smirk.

"I heard him complaining to Theo about it," Blaise eyes his Ravenclaw partner carefully.

"I'm sure he was just crying about her ruining his good image or something," Tracy shrugs. "You know how he is."

"Or maybe he's worried about some dirty Gryffindor coming after his girl," Blaise cocks an eyebrow in amusement. "We Slytherin's are rather possessive, you know."

"And here I thought Malfoy was too perfect to ever have to worry about having competition; especially from a dirty Gryffindor" Tracy challenges.

"He is," Blaise says in a matter of fact tone.

"I'm starting to feel like you're trying to annoy me on purpose now," Tracy sighs.

"I am," Blaise admits without hesitation. "I've been starting to get bored in here over these past few weeks. Making you suffer in silence was fun for a moment, but now I need a new way to entertain myself."

"And bugging me by making insinuations about our friends is what you've opted for?" Tracy questions incredulously.

"I just wanted to know your interpretation of their strange behavior as of late?" Blaise comes back with a smirk.

"They're both obviously stressed out about the engagement," Tracy shrugs, telling Blaise the first thing she can think of. "If Malfoy's parents would just stop being so ridiculous with their demands and manipulations, perhaps everything could just go back to normal."

"That wouldn't be very interesting at all," Blaise frowns. "I quite like having all the excitement you American girls seem to stir up. I mean, with you securing yourself a relationship with golden boy Potter so quickly and Emmings winning the hand of the 'oh so coveted' Draco Malfoy. Between the two of you, you've knocked all of Hogwarts for a loop. I must say, I can't wait to see how it all plays out."

"Oh boy, you're one of those guys who thrives on drama aren't you?" Tracy tilts her head in amusement.

"Nah, I'm one of those guys who appreciates when two girls have the power to come in and completely change the dynamics of an entire student body," Blaise replies.

"You're over exaggerating," Tracy states plainly.

"Am I?" the Slytherin pushes.

"Yes," She replies quickly. Tracy gathers her things then and feels thankful that class was finally over. Blaise was confusing. He was interesting, but confusing. And Tracy didn't need any more confusion. "See you on Monday," She waves to the boy before leaving the room with an exhausted looking Danielle.

* * *

"What about floo powder?" Draco asks Danielle who was struggling to keep her eyes open as she skimmed through another pile of books she'd borrowed from the library. "Vanishing cabinets are almost like the floo network that connects people's fireplaces. You start in one and end up in another."

"Yes, but the floo network connects thousands of fireplaces together. Vanishing cabinets only come in pairs. If one is broken, than the thing you are trying to transport goes into a sort of limbo," Danielle sighs before letting out a yawn. "And besides, floo powder has to react with fire to work. Vanishing cabinets are activated by an incantation. They seem much more like port keys, to me. The cabinet is just a cabinet with some sort of magic added. It doesn't have any sort of magical properties by itself."

"Darn," Draco growls before slamming the book he was looking at shut. He got up from the place he was sitting and walked over to stare at the vanishing cabinet. Danielle could tell that he was starting to feel hopeless again. "I can't believe I'm going to die because of this stupid thing," He mumbles through his clenched teeth. "Looks like you won't have to marry me after all."

"You aren't going to die," Danielle sighs. "We'll figure this thing out and then you'll get to marry the witch of your choice."

"The witch of my choice, huh?" Draco looks over to Danielle warily.

"Yep," Danielle nods her head confidently.

"Not Pansy, then" He says with a short laugh.

"Not Pansy," Danielle repeats in agreement.

"Astoria Greengrass."

"Huh?" Danielle looks to the boy hesitantly.

"That's who I was hoping my parents would choose eventually," Draco tells her quietly. "Astoria Greengrass."

"Which one is she?" Danielle asks curiously. Perhaps getting Draco's mind off the cabinet for a moment would do him some good. And also, Danielle was just nosey.

"She's not in our year," Draco sighs as he sinks back down onto the floor and leans against the cabinet so that he was sitting across from Danielle. "She's younger. She's got long dark brown hair and big eyes."

"Does she usually sit next to that one girl with the blonde curly hair at meals?" Danielle asks as she tries to picture who he's talking about.

"Yeah, that blonde is her older sister," Draco confirms.

"I know who you're talking about then," Danielle tells him. "She's very pretty, although someone should tell her to cover up her cleavage and add a few inches to the bottom of her uniform; of course that's probably why you want her." Draco smirks at the comment which causes Danielle to shake her head in amusement. "You're sick," She tells him.

"Me?" Draco looks offended, "We all know that if you had it your way, you'd be off panting after that Gryffindor loser."

"In all honesty, he's the one who came up to me!" Danielle defends herself, "And Seamus isn't so bad, he makes me laugh!"

"And how does being a clown make him so special?" Draco asks her irritably. "You really make no sense to me at all sometimes, Emmings. I mean, even when given your pick of Slytherin's you'd still go after Zabini of all people."

"What?" Danielle scrunches up her face, "What are you talking about?"

"Ah, look at Blaise, he's such a great dancer, he should smile more," Draco says in a terrible imitation of Danielle's voice. Danielle snorts.

"He _does_ have a nice smile," she shrugs and Draco huffs. Danielle crosses her arms, "Forgive me for giving the guy a compliment."

"You obviously have low standards," Draco frowns.

"Just because I won't bow down at _your_ feet and because I said one or two nice things about Blaise?" Danielle asks in irritation. "It was just an observation. Everything doesn't have to be a competition, you know. Yes, Blaise is good at dancing and has a nice smile. I didn't mean that he was the best dancer in the world or has the best smile I ever saw. You obviously danced just as well as him at the party so you don't have to get your Malfoy knickers in a bunch."

Draco paused to process her rant for a moment before folding his arms and saying, "You'd still choose him though."

"How could you possibly know that for sure? That assumption is completely unfounded," Danielle raises her eyebrows at him. "And I fail to see what is so horrible about Blaise anyway. You act like he's so terrible right now, but when he's with you it's almost as if you see him as an equal. Furthermore, as bad of a choice of husband as you think Blaise is, I refuse to believe he's worse than Crabbe, Goyle, or even Theodore Nott." Draco doesn't respond to this which bugs Danielle a little.

"And either way," She continues. "It's a moot point. I wouldn't lower myself by marrying any of you. For all I know, you've all taken the dark mark over break and I don't wish to be known as Mrs. Death Eater."

"None of the others got the mark," Draco responds with a growl. Danielle could tell she was pushing the boy's buttons but she didn't care. She was tired and irritable. "You think the dark lord wants a bunch of kid death eaters?"

"He made you one" Danielle waves her hand up at Draco whose face darkened as she spoke.

"I was chosen," Draco mutters without meeting Danielle's eye. "I was … handpicked especially for this job." Danielle frowns at this.

"Now, you've lost me with that one" She confesses, "You are Draco Malfoy, one of the richest and most well known pureblooded wizards in the entire world. And I'm not being facetious when I say this. You _are_ at the top of pureblood society. You're important. Why would you-know-who pick _you_ to do this mission? Shouldn't you and your family be above having to take orders? You-know-who wants a world in which purebloods rein over everyone else. You'd be like, the crown jewel in that world. Why would he handpick_ you_ for this nearly impossible mission and threaten to take_ your_ life if you fail when _you_ embody everything that he supposedly values?"

If possible, Draco appeared even more depressed and worn than before. As the truth of Danielle's words sunk in, she could tell that he was having more and more trouble keeping his face neutral. His blue eyes began to shine with unshed tears and his fists clenched at his sides. A wave of guilt washed over the Ravenclaw.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you" She whispers. "You-know-who is just a hypocrite and you don't deserve this misery. That's all I was trying to say." Draco just looks away from her, embarrassed by his signs of weakness. Danielle pushes herself off the ground and closes the distance between her and the Slytherin. She offers him her hand. "Well, that asshole is going to be sorely disappointed if he thinks he's going to have the pleasure of snuffing the life out of you" She tells him confidently before pulling him up so that he's standing in front of her. "And if he was so powerful he could have just told you how to fix the stupid vanishing cabinet from the start or even done it himself. Instead, he took the cowards way out and sent in a kid to do his dirty work! You know what I say? Challenge accepted!"

Draco shakes his head as he wipes the wetness from his eyes with the palms of his hands, "You're crazy, woman."

"Maybe I am!" Danielle shouts throwing her arms in the air, "But at least I'm not a sadistic, two timing psychopath! At least I back my words up with actions! And at least you don't see me running around knocking killing curses off of babies' foreheads! I mean really, it's pretty sad when you think about it."

"How can you speak like that?" Draco then asks her seriously, "You act like you aren't afraid of him at all."

"Of course I'm afraid," Danielle tells him honestly. "But I'm not going to let him see that. I'll admit that at first, I wanted as little to do with this war as possible. But now, after seeing the way you-know-who treats the people who have allowed themselves to be branded by him like cattle and who serve him loyally, I can't just turn a blind eye. It's wrong. What he's done just to you alone, Draco. It makes me sick."

"But… you're helping him by doing this task," Draco says looking a little uncomfortable with Danielle's heartfelt speech.

"Yes, and that's a sad thought all on its own," Danielle contorts her face into anger for the evil wizard she was helping. "Apparently I cherish the lives of you Malfoys, who've recently turned my life into a hellish nightmare might I add, more than the dark lord that you worship does. Funny, isn't it; how I'm the one who's labeled as a blood traitor?" Draco was grimacing a little now and looking anywhere but at the girl in front of him. Danielle shook out of her passionate dialogue then and noticed her fiancé nervously shifting and lets out a laugh. "Don't worry," She tells him, "I told you I'd help you fix the cabinet, and I meant what I said. Perhaps we should turn in early tonight though, yeah? You look peaked. We could both use a good night's sleep. We'll dive right back in tomorrow, I promise."

"Sure," He replies quietly; though Danielle saw him send an anxious glance over at the cabinet.

"Come on," She sighs; dragging him out by his sleeve. "It'll still be there in the morning. Even the most perfect people need to rest their brains."


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty Four

"Where's Danielle?" Seamus asks Tracy who had come down for dinner alone. Tracy didn't have to answer that question because her friends could figure it out by themselves.

"So, Malfoy has her skipping meals now, does he?" Hermione questions with a frown.

"Why does she put up with it?" Ron looks annoyed, "You don't think Snape really expects her to spend this much time helping that git, do you? I mean, Malfoy isn't even bad at potions. He shouldn't need Danielle that much."

"And it's weird that Malfoy is even able to be around Danielle for so long," Harry looks to Tracy. "You'd think they'd have killed each other by now."

"Have you seen the two of them lately though?" Seamus asks bitterly, "I think they _are_ killing each other, slowly."

"If she didn't like being around him, she wouldn't do it." Abby adds in with a shrug. "Maybe she actually likes him but has to keep it a secret so you guys won't get mad at her."

"Except she's not really keeping it a secret very well, is she?" Ron asks with a sad laugh.

"You guys," Tracy sighs feeling extremely stressed. She hated being in the middle of her friends like this. She hated lying to Harry, Ron, and Hermione and keeping the truth from them. It just made it worse that she didn't know what she was keeping from them too. She felt just as concerned about Danielle's actions as the others. "I know she's been acting sort of strange. But you can't possibly think that she likes the way her life is right now."

"It's just all so suspicious," Harry says looking guilty. "Maybe you were right, Tracy. Maybe Malfoy's doing something to her and threatening her not to tell anyone."

"Malfoy looks just as terrible though," Hermione says truthfully. "And I don't think Danielle would allow him to threaten her. She never had a problem going toe to toe with him before."

"Whatever is going on, I wish she'd just tell us" Ron states, "Maybe we could help."

"What if Abby's right though?" Seamus winces, "What if they're… embracing their engagement?"

"She wouldn't," Tracy defends her friend. "She still hates Malfoy. I know she does."

"That doesn't mean she hasn't just given up," Seamus shrugs. "Maybe she's realized that the Malfoy's are never going to call it off so she's just sucking it up and trying to make the best of it."

"That would explain why she looks so miserable," Hermione sighs. "But still, I don't know. I don't see Danielle doing something like that. She's pretty stubborn."

"I can't believe she hasn't told you anything, Tracy" Abby says to her sister's best friend. Tracy didn't know what to do but shrug as a response. She couldn't tell her friends the little bit she did know.

"I say we just confront her about it," Harry then declares; bringing his fist down on the table. "She's our friend and what if she does need our help?" Tracy can't help but smile a little at her boyfriend despite the situation. He really was a loyal friend; a true Gryffindor.

"It can't hurt," Hermione nods her head.

"And if we still don't get any answers after that," Harry says determinedly, "I'll talk to Dumbledore about it. I mean, he's supposed to be helping them with their engagement right?"

"Yes," Ron confirms. "That's what Danielle said."

"Well then, that's what we'll do" Harry tells them all, "we're going to get to the bottom of this."

* * *

That night, Danielle stumbled into her dorm room at around three in the morning to find Tracy up and waiting for her. It was a bit surprising, but not as surprising as the fact that she had managed to sneak through Hogwarts once again without getting caught by Filch. At least the entrance to Ravenclaw tower was on the fifth floor. She only had two floors to sneak through. Draco somehow got from the seventh floor to the dungeons underneath the school every single night. He must be incredibly stealthy.

"Hey," Tracy frowns at her friend who looked extremely tired and stressed.

"Hi," Danielle mumbles before falling into her bed fully clothed.

"Harry and the others… they're starting to wonder why you're spending so much time with Malfoy," Tracy says quietly. "They don't really believe the Snape thing anymore." Danielle just lets out a groan. "I wish I knew what you were doing with him," Tracy frowns. "You're starting to look as worn down and sick as he is."

"I'm sorry," was Danielle's muffled reply. Her face was shoved into her pillow. She knew how she looked though. Fixing the vanishing cabinet was taking everything out of her.

"Whatever you're doing with him… it is what Dumbledore told you to do, right?" Tracy asks hesitantly.

"Yes, well he asked me to do it. He wanted me to help Draco," Danielle then curses at her small slip of information.

"But, you spend so much time with him" Tracy hates to nag but she needed some answers. "What you're doing, is it worth your health? And what about your school work? I know you can't tell me anything about what Dumbledore has you doing, but it's just so confusing. I don't get what could be so important about Malfoy."

"I know," Danielle repeats, "I'm sorry."

"I'm just worried," Tracy says honestly, "I'm worried about everything with Harry and I'm really worried about you. I don't know what to do. Harry and the others are planning on asking you about everything too. They're worried and a little suspicious."

"Just don't worry about me," Danielle mutters. "I'm not really that happy that Harry, Ron, and Hermione are losing trust in me. Those guys have been amazing and I know that they are the best people a person could be friends with. It sucks that I'm losing friends because of this, but that's my problem. Not yours. I'll think of something to tell them. I don't want you stressing about me and letting my issues getting between you and Harry or ruining your friendship with the others. There is only one more thing that I need from you."

"What?" Tracy asks cautiously.

"I just need to know that you still trust me," Danielle sighs. She hated herself for making her friend go through all this trouble for her, but she still needed her. "I need to know that at least one person has faith in me and what I'm doing. You're my best friend, that hasn't changed. It won't change. I'm on your side, Harry's side. You guys are my friends. This thing with Draco, it's important."

"I believe you," Tracy tells her friend. Danielle had been acting questionable lately but Tracy knew when her friend was telling the truth or not. And really, Tracy felt terrible for Danielle. It had to be hard for her to have to keep something like this away from her friends. At least Tracy was able to confide in Harry and others with her secret.

"It's important," Danielle repeats then, "I have to do this. Remember what you told me before? About staying and helping Harry fight? You said you couldn't just ignore the injustices going on here in England. I can't either. Draco, he needs my help. He doesn't have anyone but me. I know he's annoying and mean sometimes but Tracy, he needs my help. I have to do what I know is the right thing to do and this is it. You and Harry and the others have each other. Draco has no one. If you needed me though… you know what my choice would be. You're my best friend."

"I understand," Tracy laughs a little. Danielle was tired and rambling. "Helping him is something that you have to do but it doesn't mean you are choosing him over us."

"Yeah," Danielle nods with her eyes shut. "Whatever you do, don't forget that. I don't know what's going to happen but don't forget that."

"I won't," Tracy promises even though the seriousness in her friend's voice made her a little nervous. What could Danielle be helping Draco with that was so important? Tracy wished that she and Danielle could just be completely honest with each other. Dumbledore was extremely smart though so Tracy trusted that he knew what he was doing.

"Thank you," Danielle says before falling asleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next day, after lunch, Tracy and Harry were walking with Seamus up toward Gryffindor tower. Ron and Abby had already gone back to the common room and Hermione had gone down to the library to study.

"I reckon you two are going with each other to Hogsmead tomorrow, right?" Seamus asks the couple next to him as they walk through the castle.

"I forgot about that," Tracy looks to her boyfriend, "Do you want to go? The weather is supposed to be good; no snow." Going to Hogsmeade actually sounded really nice to Tracy. She was sick of the school. She needed to get away, even if just for a few hours. She didn't know how the younger students, who weren't allowed to go, made it through the entire school year without leaving Hogwarts at all. She would lose her mind if she had to do that.

"Sure," Harry shrugs, "Can we go in the afternoon though? I wanted to have a Quidditch practice in the morning. The last game of the year is coming up and I want to make sure we're ready. It's us against Hufflepuff and I'll be upset if we don't get the trophy!"

"Yeah, that should work" Tracy nods before looking to Seamus, "Are you going?"

"Well, do you know what Danielle's doing?" He asks nervously and Tracy smiles. Even through everything, the Irish boy couldn't shake his affection for the Ravenclaw girl.

"I'm not sure," She tells him honestly. If she had to guess though, Danielle would be stuck doing whatever it was she did with Draco. He didn't give her weekends off. He didn't give her any breaks at all.

"Ok," Seamus wrings his hands together. "I know she's been busy lately but, do you think she'd go to Hogsmeade with me? I'd really like to ask her."

"Oh really?" Seamus, Harry, and Tracy turn around to see Draco coming down the stairs towards them. "I hope I heard you wrong, Finnigan! Thinking about asking my fiancée out, are you?" Tracy frowned as she took in Draco's appearance. He looked completely haggard. And what was he doing coming from the upper floors? He shouldn't have any classes up there right now since it was lunch time. Tracy assumed that he must be taking a break from whatever the secret was to get some food. That meant that Danielle was probably down at the great hall or in the Ravenclaw common room.

Seamus paled a little as Draco walked up, "Malfoy… I" He had never really butted heads with the Slytherin before. He had fortunately avoided conflict with him during their years at Hogwarts so far.

"Piss off Malfoy! We all know Danielle doesn't want to be engaged to you!" Harry defends Danielle and Tracy is actually surprised by this.

"What she wants is irrelevant," Draco sneers, looking so exhausted that he might fall over at any moment. "As long as my ring is on her finger she will not be going out with anyone else."

"Why don't you just leave her alone?" Seamus speaks up, apparently deciding that sticking up for Danielle was more important than protecting his own self. "Go marry someone who actually likes you!" Draco narrowed his eyes at this and takes a threatening step forward causing Seamus to draw his wand defensively.

"Back off, Malfoy!" Harry raises his voice and steps up to Seamus' side bravely, pulling out his own wand as well. Tracy was starting to worry. Would she be able to stop them from fighting and defuse the situation like Danielle could?

"No," Draco snaps, "You back off, Potter! This doesn't even concern you."

"Danielle's my friend!" Harry growls and brings up his wand to point it at Draco's chest.

"And she's my future wife!" Draco argues, "I don't think you'd like it if some idiot started asking Ross out behind your back."

"Seamus isn't an idiot!" Harry counters, "And he can ask Danielle out if he wants to! It's up to her to choose whether or not she'll stay faithful to you."

"SHE WILL!" Draco bellows which causes Seamus, Harry, and Tracy to jump a little in shock. Tracy was sure that Draco was thinking more about Dumbledore's secret than the actual engagement now. Draco didn't want to marry Danielle and vice versa.

"Why would she?" Harry asks in disgust, "You've been nothing but cruel to her since she first came here! You called her names, made fun of her family, and even tormented her sister! And only Merlin knows what you've been putting her through recently! Whatever she's doing with you has sucked the life right out of her!" Draco's eyes widened and he finally pulled his own wand.

"What has she told you?" He asks darkly and Tracy thinks she sees a flash of fear on his face.

"Nothing," She declares boldly, "She's told us absolutely nothing! That's the point! She is keeping secrets from her friends for YOU when you've been so positively terrible to her."

"Perhaps Emmings has just finally realized that being with me is much more beneficial than sticking around with any of you," Draco pushes with a sneer.

"Have you looked at her lately?" Harry asks angrily, "Ever since she's been engaged to you she's looked overworked, malnourished, and depressed. I'd hardly consider those benefits."

"Whatever Potter, I'm not forcing her to do anything. You'll just have to deal with the fact that she choose me over all of you," Draco says fiercely. Tracy couldn't believe that Draco was actually gloating about Danielle spending time with him. He used to hate her. Didn't he still? Perhaps he was just trying to piss Harry off, but Tracy had a feeling that what Danielle had told her before was true. Draco needed her, and desperately by the looks of it. But the question was; for what?

"If she really has chosen you," Tracy then speaks up, "that's even more of a reason to give her some freedom. Let her make her own choices, since you're so confident. She can't just be around you all the time, Malfoy. She needs to interact with other people too or she'll never be happy."

"Happy? You think she actually likes wasting her time on this moron?" Draco laughs and gestures to Seamus who immediately takes offence.

"Danielle and I get along great!" he snaps, "And I think she'd like dating me more than she would you. You're the one who's a waste of her time!"

"I don't care! She's MINE, Finnigan!" Draco growls and points his wand up at Seamus' face.

"Malfoy, stop!" Tracy shouts in panic causing the Slytherin to whirl around toward her so that his wand was aiming at her.

"Sectum Sempra!" Harry pointed his wand at Draco whose face went from pure loathing to panic. Three large slashes had formed in the front of his robes over his chest and stomach as if cut by an invisible sword. Blood quickly began to seep from the deep long slices; soaking the front of his uniform in red. Draco let out a whimper of pain before collapsing to the ground.

"Harry! What did you do?" Tracy gasps in horror as Draco begins to convulse a little. He was grabbing at his open gashes which were bleeding so bad that puddles of the red liquid began pooling around Draco on the floor.

"What is going on here?!" Snape had just come around the corner and noticed the terrible scene in front of him. His eyes widened in shock as he looks down at his favorite student. Without another word, the potions professor kneels down next to the injured boy and begins chanting a spell while waving his wand over the wounds. The bleeding seemed to slow down but the cuts remained open.

"Professor…" Tracy whispers not really knowing what to say. Surely they would get expelled for doing something so terrible to another student, even if it was Draco. Why had Harry used a spell like that? Tracy had never heard of it before and wondered if Harry had even known what it would do.

"All three of you will return to your dormitories while I take Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing," Snape was talking in monotone but Tracy wasn't foolish enough to think that he wasn't angry. Draco was from his own house, after all. And what Harry had done was terrible. Tracy wondered if Draco would even be ok. She didn't question Snape though. She just turned around silently and headed away with Harry and Seamus. None of them were brave enough to speak until they were at the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"I didn't know that would happen to him," Harry whispers to his friends urgently once they arrived. Tracy frowns.

"Harry, where did you even learn a spell like that?" she asks him in disappointment.

"I think I saw it written down somewhere," Harry explains looking guilty. "I didn't mean to use it. I saw him point his wand at you Tracy and it just popped into my head."

"You shouldn't use spells that you don't know," Tracy lectures. "What if Malfoy … what if he isn't alright?"

"I know," Harry looks down at his feet ashamed. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. What should we do, now? Do you think Snape's going to have me expelled?"

"I don't know," Tracy tells him honestly. "We'll have to wait and see how Malfoy is. You two should get in the common room though, in case someone comes up here to talk to you about what happened."

"What are you going to do?" Seamus asks quickly; looking extremely shaken up by what had just happened.

"I have to go find Danielle," She answers. "She needs to know what's happened." Seamus and Harry both looked irritated by that but don't say anything. Tracy ushers them into their common room before going off to find her friend. Danielle was Draco's fiancée, whether she liked it or not. And people would expect her to be at Draco's side after something as tragic as this.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty Five

"Oh my gosh," Danielle puts a hand over her mouth as she quickly makes her way across the hospital wing towards Draco's bed. When Tracy had told her what had happened, Danielle had taken off to see him immediately. It hadn't mattered to her who was to blame or who started it. Danielle's main concern was finding out if Draco was going to live. She marched up to his side and winced at the sight of the three large lacerations marring the pale flesh of Draco's chest and stomach. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse, was sprinkling something out of a pipette over him which bubbled and hissed as it came into contact with the cuts. "Dittany?" Danielle asks and the nurse looks up at her in shock.

"Yes," Madam Pomfrey holds up the bottle in confirmation. "But Mr. Malfoy isn't really in any condition to have visitors yet."

"I'm his fiancée," Danielle holds up the ring for a second. "I'm staying." Madam Pomfrey looked like she wanted to argue for a moment but after a second thought better of it. Draco was her main priority right now. "Will it scar?" Danielle asks her hesitantly.

"It is a very good possibility," the nurse says sadly. "I've never seen a curse like this before. It's definitely dark magic. That complicates things. But, Mr. Malfoy may just luck out. Professor Snape wasted no time in bringing him here." Danielle nodded her head in understanding before looking down at Draco who was squeezing his eyes closed and clenching his fists in agony.

"Remind me to thank you friend Potter for this later," he groans as Danielle watches the pieces of his severed skin try to knit themselves back together. It wasn't working too well and Danielle knew that would be because of the dark magic.

"Why did he do this to you?" Danielle asks sadly, "Tracy didn't have time to explain it all to me. What did you do to make Harry so angry?"

"Of course, it's all my fault" Draco croaks out, "naturally."

"I'm not saying it's all of your fault," Danielle frowns. "But, you had to have done something. Harry wouldn't just… do this."

"I heard Finnigan telling the dream couple that he was going to ask you to go out with him to Hogsmead this weekend," Draco grits his teeth as Madam Pomfrey begins spreading some minty smelling brown paste over the gashes.

"What?" Danielle asks in shock. Draco and her friends had gotten into a fight this serious because Seamus wanted to ask her out. Wait, Danielle froze, "Seamus is going to ask me out?" She asks.

"NO!" Draco growls before wincing in pain, "At least, he better not. You're engaged to me! And besides, you and I have prior arrangements anyway." Yeah, plans to work on the stupid vanishing cabinet, real fun. Danielle frowns and sits down in the chair next to Draco's bed.

"So Harry did this to you because you didn't want Seamus asking me out?" She asks in irritation. Madam Pomfrey finally stopped fussing over Draco's wounds and went to go get some gauze to cover them up.

"More or less," Draco mumbles. "And, I may or may not have aimed my wand at his girlfriend."

"You were going to hex Tracy?!" Danielle says, looking appalled.

"NO!" Draco defends himself, "But either way, he didn't have to hit me with this bloody curse! Anything else would have been better!"

"You're right," Danielle agrees as she looks back down at the puffy pink skin which seemed to be holding together now. "I have no idea why he would do something like this. You're a pain in the rear sometimes, to be sure, but this is crazy."

"Why are you here anyway?" Draco asks looking annoyed.

"I had to make sure my betrothed was going to live, didn't I?" Danielle asks with a teasing smile. "I mean, how would it make me look if I didn't?" Draco lets out a small laugh and rolls his eyes.

"Well, sorry to break it to you," He attempts a joke, "But it looks like I'll live to see another day."

"Darn," Danielle fakes disappointment. "My hopes are dashed at every turn."

"DRACO?!" Pansy Parkinson burst into infirmary then looking frantic.

"See what I mean?" Danielle whispers to the injured Slytherin before smirking, "Quick, pretend that you're dead." Draco laughs at this.

"Draco! Oh my gosh! Look at what they've done to you!" She squeals and throws herself over Draco who lets out a howl of pain.

"OUCH! Get off! Are you mad?" He screams at her. Pansy stands back up with tears in her eyes.

"He's not fully healed yet, you idiot" Danielle growls before looking over the still fresh wounds to make sure they hadn't opened back up.

"Are you ok Draco? Are you going to live?" Pansy ignores Danielle and begins attempting to assess Draco's damage by messing with the sheets and feeling the boy's forehead. Danielle lets out a sarcastic laugh.

"Don't worry your pretty little head," She tells Pansy. "The heir to the Malfoy fortune has been spared." The Slytherin girl stares at Danielle in confusion for a moment before turning to her fallen housemate.

"Draco! You can't marry her! Look! She's already having her friends try to kill you off!" Pansy pleads as she grips onto the blonde's hand. "She just wants you to leave her all your money!"

"You've got it all wrong, I'm afraid," Danielle smiles sarcastically. "It wouldn't do me any good to kill him now. I'll have to wait until after I'm married to do him in or I'll never see a knut of the Malfoy fortune."

"See! Draco! She has it all planned out already!" Pansy's voice was high pitched and piercing.

"I don't care," Draco gives Pansy a warning look. "Go away, you're bugging me." A look of hurt flashed onto the girl's face for a brief moment before being replaced with her fake smile.

"Ok Draco, I'm sorry I bothered you" She says in her soft girly voice. "If you need anything let me know." Pansy gives Danielle one more glare before leaving the hospital wing once again.

"Good lord, she's pathetic," Danielle says after the girl leaves. "She'd jump off the Astronomy tower if you told her too."

"Don't give me any ideas," Draco says with a sigh. He seemed more relaxed now that Pansy was gone.

"Does it feel any better?" Danielle asks him quietly as Madam Pomfrey came back over to help Draco sit up so she could wrap him up with gauze.

"The cuts themselves hurt less," Draco tells her. "But my insides feel like they're on fire."

"I'm afraid that won't go away anytime soon," Madam Pomfrey tells him sadly. "It's the effects of the dark magic. I can give you a potion to dull the pain but there isn't anything to make it stop entirely. It'll last a few weeks, a month at the most." Draco groaned.

"How deep were those cuts, anyway?" Danielle looks to the nurse curiously. "I heard about this spell once, Vulnera Sanentur." Madam Pomfrey raises her eyebrows in surprise.

"Very good, young lady" She nods her head at Danielle, "That's precisely the spell Professor Snape used to get Mr. Malfoy's wounds under control before he was brought here." Danielle looks down and blushes at the praise. "What's your name again, dear?"

"Danielle Emmings."

"Well, Ms. Emmings, I'm quite impressed that you know that spell. And you recognized the dittany right away too," The nurse was looking at Danielle with a smile.

"My father runs a chain of Apothecaries," She admits, "And I've always been interested in healing."

"It isn't an easy job, but I can tell you have a knack for it" The nurse then turns to Draco. "I'll be back to check up on you in a little while. Try to rest." Danielle and Draco sat in silence for a moment after Madam Pomfrey went back into her office.

"Well, I guess that means I'm going to be in here for a while" Draco sighs after a moment or two, "Just my luck."

"I'm sorry," Danielle tells him honestly. "I'm going to thump Harry on his head for doing this. He could have killed you."

"I guess it worked out though," Draco shrugs. "With me in here, we can't really work on… you know. So, if you want, I guess you can go to Hogsmeade… with… whoever… I don't care. Just try not to make a big show about it."

Danielle tried hard to hide her shock at Draco giving her permission to go on a date with Seamus. Of course, there was a small part of her that felt annoyed that he thought she needed his permission to do anything. But there was another part of her that had never thought she'd ever see Draco give a little. Giving her permission was almost like him trying to do something nice. Danielle was taken aback by his uncharacteristically selfless act.

"Well, thank you," She smiles at him before standing up. She appreciated Draco's offer but wasn't sure if she should take it. Even though she didn't want to be engaged to Draco, the fact remained that she was. She didn't know if she could go out on a date with someone else until the ring on her finger was gone. "I guess I should go now though. I need to have a serious talk with a certain boy-who's-going-to-wish-he-hadn't-lived-after-I-get-through-with-him," She tells Draco who shakes his head at the girl.

"I guess I'll see you later then," He says.

"Yep, get better" Danielle nods at him. "Bye."

* * *

"Danielle, I'm so sorry" was the first thing out of Harry's mouth when the girl found him and the rest of her friends outside by the lake. "Is Malfoy going to be alright?"

"He's going to live," Danielle states feeling like it wasn't her that Harry should be apologizing to. "He's in a lot of pain though. He might have scars and the dark magic from that curse is doing a real number on his body." Harry looked down at the grass.

"At least he's going to be alright," Tracy lets out a sigh of relief. "There was so much blood."

"I should have never used that spell," Harry mumbles. "I don't know what I would have done if I'd have killed him." Danielle was glad that Harry was showing some remorse for what he had done. She had sort of been expecting him to try and defend himself. But Harry seemed to realize that there was nothing that could justify his actions. Not even Draco had deserved to be hit with a curse like that.

"Well now you know not to go around shouting out spells that you don't know the effects of," Hermione crosses her arms sternly.

"Where's Seamus?" Danielle then asks to try and spare Harry from Hermione's lecture. He was already punishing himself enough for all of them right now, "Wasn't he there when it happened?"

"He's a little upset," Ron explains to her with a frown. "While they were fighting, Malfoy sort of said some things…"

"He said that you had chosen him over us!" Harry finally meets Danielle's eyes boldly.

"Well, that's just ridiculous," Danielle states but all her friends look at her skeptically.

"You have been spending a lot of time with him lately," Hermione voices her concern causing Ron and Harry to nod in agreement. Tracy was watching Danielle expectantly, wondering what she would say.

"Yes," Danielle nods her head. "I have been spending a lot of time with him. And I know how that must look to you guys."

"What has Malfoy done to you?" Ron asks her seriously, "What have the two of you been up to?" Hermione, Harry, and Tracy turn their full attention to Danielle now.

"I'm going to be as honest with you guys as I possibly can," Danielle says with a sigh. "I haven't forgotten about the way Draco has treated all of you, and I haven't forgotten what he's done to me. I'm not spending all this time with him because I want to, nor am I necessarily being forced. It was a choice. The choice was not between you guys and Draco though. It was a choice between right and wrong. And I know you guys, of all people, can understand that. Harry, you know how the ministry told everyone you were crazy for saying that you-know-who was back and they believed it? You were slandered in the papers and judged harshly by everyone around you. But you never stopped telling them the truth though. You never gave in just so that they would all leave you alone. What I'm doing, it's sort of like that. I know that people are judging me right now and thinking the worst. But, I can't stop."

"We aren't judging you," Hermione responds first. "We're just worried about you."

"Yeah," Harry nods his head. "And if you just tell us what's going on, maybe we could help you. We don't care what people think about us either."

"Whatever it is, you don't have to do it alone," Ron adds in his support as well. Danielle smiles at her friends sadly. She appreciated their eagerness to help her, but they couldn't. They wouldn't understand. There was nearly six years of bad blood between Draco and the three Gryffindors. They wouldn't be able to look past the hatred to see the scared, betrayed, Slytherin boy that Danielle saw.

"You guys," Danielle was having trouble finding the right words to say. "Think of all the time that I'm spending with Draco. I doubt that any of you would want to be around him that much."

"If we all worked together, maybe it wouldn't take as long" Ron offers with a shrug.

"Danielle may be right," Hermione then admits with a frown. "I don't know if we could work productively with Malfoy on anything. But still, you can at least tell us what it is can't you?"

"I can't," Danielle says regretfully. "Not without putting myself and Draco in danger. And, I hate to say this, but, you guys have your own prejudices that would blind you to the truth even if I told it to you." All four of her friends looked outraged by this.

"Our prejudice?" Hermione crosses her arms, "Malfoy is the one who looks down on everyone just because of who their parents are! He's the one that uses degrading names like 'mudblood' and 'blood traitor'." Danielle sighs again and shakes her head. If her friends knew that Draco had the dark mark, they would immediately condemn him with their pre-conceived notions about what a death eater was. They'd immediately label him as a narrow minded, psychopath worshiping murderer. They wouldn't give him a chance to prove otherwise; especially hot headed Harry and Ron.

"Danielle, what are you talking about?" Tracy asks sounding irritated.

"You've got to look at both sides," Danielle states. "The whole Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry… it's all prejudice and stereotypes. Every time you call someone a dirty Slytherin or something… I mean, you've never talked to some of those people. They can't all possibly be that bad, but you assume they are. They do the same to you, I know. I'm just saying that it goes both ways. And, I'm guilty of it too. When I stood up in potions that day I insulted every Slytherin girl in the room. It wasn't right. I don't know them. I don't know what they go through."

"Those girls deserved that," Ron says angrily. "They all were sending you dirty looks and talking about you behind your back."

"What about Blaise Zabini then?" Danielle looks to Tracy, "I know some of his comments annoy you, but he doesn't seem all that bad to me."

"He's best friends with Malfoy!" Harry shouts.

"He hasn't said a single mean thing to me since I've known him," Danielle defends the boy. "And I've never heard him say anything bad against muggleborns."

"Doesn't mean he isn't thinking it," Ron grumbles.

"And there's your prejudice," Danielle points out causing Ron's ears to go red in embarrassment. "Look," Danielle continues. "I'm not trying to lecture you guys. I'm just trying to get you to understand why I can't tell you what's been going on. You guys have no idea how nice it is to know that you all want to help and that you're worried about me, but this is really something that I need to do on my own. And trust me, Draco and I aren't too thrilled about this situation either." Harry and Ron were starting to look really annoyed with Danielle but Hermione was looking thoughtful.

"Danielle," She says hesitantly. "You said that the choice you made was between right and wrong." Danielle nodded her head and Hermione continued, "Malfoy… he had to make this sort of choice as well?"

Danielle felt herself smile a little at Hermione's question, "Yes, he did."

"And you both made the same choice?" She asks looking a little embarrassed.

"His choice was harder than mine," Danielle confesses. Honestly, she still couldn't believe Draco had gone against his parent's wishes and turned on you-know who. Danielle's choice to help Draco stay alive seemed much less dramatic. What Draco had done was actually really brave. "But yes," Danielle continued, "he made the right decision." Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked taken aback by this. Tracy was looking to the trio, hopeful that she wouldn't have to make a choice; a choice between her friends. She wanted them all to get along.

"Malfoy is actually doing something good?" Ron asks skeptically. Danielle frowned at that comment. Draco wasn't really doing something good, but breaking away from you-know-who had been good. Sure Draco still had his prejudices but he didn't want to be a death eater. He didn't want to be a murderer. And to Danielle, those were all good things.

"He's a work in progress," Danielle shrugs and lets out a little laugh.

"I believe you," Tracy states confidently and Danielle smiles to her thankfully.

"I just," Harry looked guilty for not feeling the same way as his girlfriend. "I just, don't know how there can be any good in Malfoy at all."

"He agreed to let me go to Hogsmeade this weekend with Seamus," Danielle offers and all four of her friends look shocked.

"He did?" Harry gasps, "After making such a fuss about it before? This whole mess would have been avoided if Malfoy hadn't started that argument in the first place!"

"Maybe he actually took some of what we told him to heart," Tracy shrugs as she remembers Harry reminding Draco of how terrible he'd been to Danielle before and how she deserved to be happy.

"I don't know," Ron frowns before looking at Danielle. "What's the catch?"

"There is no catch," Danielle says in amusement. "Except if I were to go on the date with Seamus, he wants me to keep it on the down low. But that's to be expected, nobody wants their fiancé going off on dates with other men. I wouldn't want anybody to really know either. It would make us both look foolish."

"I still wish you could tell me what's going on though," Harry frowns. "If you're doing something so important, I want to help." Danielle couldn't believe that Harry still wanted to help her even after everything she'd told him.

"You can all help by not telling anybody what I've told you," Danielle says honestly. "I've already told you more than I probably should have but I felt that I owed you all some sort of explanation."

"You haven't really told us anything though," Ron scrunches up his face in confusion.

"I know," Danielle agrees. "But if anybody makes comments about me and Draco, you don't have to try and defend me or anything. I know people are coming up with their own reasons for why Draco and I have been spending so much time together and looking the way we do. It's best to just let them assume. I don't want to attract any more attention to this than there already is."

"Alright," Harry nods his head. "We'll leave it alone. But, promise me that if Malfoy tries anything or if you end up needing help after all you'll tell us."

"Of course," Danielle smiles, "As long as you only hex Draco when he annoys you from now on instead of trying to kill him."

"I promise," He says seriously, "I never thought I'd feel so bad for MALFOY. I still can't believe I was so stupid."

"He's going to be ok," Danielle reassures the boy who obviously was still having a lot of guilt for harming Draco so badly.

"And we all get to go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," Hermione smiles. "That'll give us all a nice break."

"I say we all go as a group," Tracy decides. "That way Danielle won't look like a terrible fiancée and we'll all get to finally hang out together."

"Sounds good to me," Ron declares and everyone agrees. Danielle felt a lot better now that all her friends were on the same page. It was also nice to know that Harry, Ron, and Hermione still trusted her. It gave Danielle hope, and it got her motivated. Knowing she had the support of her friends made Danielle feel even more confident that she'd be able to get that cabinet fixed so that she could put all the secrets behind her.


	26. Chapter 26

**Hello! I hope everyone is doing well :) This part of the story is actually almost done. I did write a sequel but I'm thinking about adding it to this one as a part two or something. Before I do that though I'd really appreciate it if I could get a few reviews. I'm just really curious about how people are liking the OC characters, and the story in general. It seems like a lot of people are reading this all the way through so there must be something you like about it haha. So, pretty please with sugar on top, leave me a few reviews just to put my mind at ease. :) :)  
**

Chapter Twenty Six

The next morning, Danielle excitedly made her way to the hospital wing from the library. She'd been in there practically all night doing more research for the cabinet. She had been hoping to find something good to surprise Draco. After being hit with that terrible curse the day before she figured he could use some cheering up.

"Draco," She cheers as she rushes through the doors and up to his bed. Her smile faded when she saw him just lying there and staring up at the ceiling. "You look bored."

"That's an understatement," was the short reply.

"Hasn't anyone else been in here?" Danielle asks curiously as she notices how empty Draco's nightstand was. There were no get well cards, sweets, or gifts.

"No," Draco says flatly and Danielle frowns.

"Not one?" Danielle asks feeling annoyed, "Not even Blaise?" Draco shakes his head. "Great friends," Danielle says sarcastically. "You were nearly killed and they don't even come to make sure you're ok."

"It doesn't matter. I didn't expect them too," Draco snaps looking annoyed at Danielle's prodding. "Why are you here anyway? Aren't you supposed to be going to Hogsmeade today?"

"Oh! Yeah! I am going, but we're not leaving until noon" Danielle tells him with a shrug.

"Then why are you even awake?" Draco says irritably, "You look like death. I know you're as sleep deprived as I am." Danielle just gives him a huge grin before reaching into her school bag and pulling out an old, thick, leather bound book.

"I haven't slept because I've been in the library," She tells him proudly. "I think I found something that will help us."

"Really?" The boy's face lights up with excitement and he tries to sit up but winces in pain.

"It's still hurting you," Danielle frowns as she watches Draco struggle to push himself into a sitting position. She wanted to help him but knew he'd be angry at her if she offered.

"It's just the burning," Draco waves her off. "What's in that book?"

"It's about old magical household objects," Danielle explains as she hands the aged book over. "There isn't anything about … what we have specifically, but I read something very interesting in there. Apparently there are certain potions used on magical objects to enhance the magic already on them. It's like a stain or varnish that you can just brush on."

"You think that's what we might need?" Draco asks eagerly flipping through the pages.

"Yeah," Danielle leans over to look too. "I mean, the cabinet has been working a little bit you know? When we put something in it disappears but we either can't get it back or something is wrong with it if it does get back. What if the magic is just old? What if it just needs this enhancer?"

"It's possible," Draco runs his fingers over the words. "We need to be careful though. We don't want to do something that could possibly make it worse."

"I don't think it will," Danielle says. "But to be sure, I was going to do some more digging in the library tonight. Hopefully we can get started on making this potion as soon as you're better."

"Here," Draco says as he hands the book back to Danielle. A look of guilt crosses his face, "You don't have to worry about going to the library tonight. Get some sleep. We'll start back up once I get out of here so that I can help you."

"It shouldn't take me too long to find the rest of the information we need," Danielle tells him. "I don't want to be in Hogsmeade too long anyway. I hate shopping."

"You hate shopping?" Draco looks shocked, "What kind of girl are you?" Danielle laughs.

"The longer I walk around a store the more I want to bash my own brains out just to be rid of the mind numbing misery," She tells him seriously. She could care less about clothes, shoes, purses, or make up.

Draco widens his eyes at her, "You are seriously the most…"

"Interesting and unique person you've ever met?" Danielle offers slyly. Draco's cheeks flush at the memory of his oddly worded marriage proposal.

"Yeah," He shakes his head and looks down. Danielle laughs at his embarrassment.

"Alright, I suppose I should get going now" She tells him, "don't have too much fun without me."

"Yeah, not likely" Draco grimaces and Danielle gives him a sympathetic smile.

"You could always send for Pansy," she shrugs. "I'm sure she'd love to nurse you back to health."

"That's ok," Draco frowns as he watches Danielle pick up her bag and throw it over her shoulder.

"Alright," She sighs. "I suppose I'll see you later then."

"Yep," Draco replies. "See you." Danielle gives him one last wave before turning around and walking out of the hospital wing.

* * *

"It's too bad Abby isn't allowed to come here with us," Ron says as he, Harry, Hermione, Danielle, Tracy, and Seamus walk through Zonko's Joke Shop in Hogsmeade. "She would love this store."

"She'd like Fred and George's shop better," Harry says as he picks up some odd fanged Frisbee toy. "Their ideas are so clever."

"I still can't believe what they did last year," Hermione shakes her head.

"It was brilliant!" Seamus looks to Danielle with a laugh.

"What did they do?" Tracy asks, wondering why she hadn't heard this story yet.

"Right before exams last year, they burst into the great hall on their broomsticks and flew around the entire room lighting off hundreds of fireworks," Seamus explains with a huge grin. "It was incredible. And once they'd caused as much trouble as they possibly could, they just flew off away from Hogwarts without a backwards glance!"

"Dumbledore let them get away with that?" Tracy asks in disbelief.

"Dumbledore wasn't there," Hermione replies sadly. "Last year the ministry was trying to take over Hogwarts to try and control what all the students were learning. They made Dumbledore step down so that he couldn't tell any of us the truth about you-know-who and put this terrible tyrant ministry woman in his place."

"What Fred and George did was to defy the ministry," Ron explains. "It was a success too. They are like Hogwarts legends now, even to the professors. When they crashed into the great hall, I swear I even saw McGonagall smile!" Danielle and Tracy laugh at this.

"Yes, well, as entertaining as it was" Hermione adds in, "It was still wrong. They were seventh years. They were so close to graduating! They should have just taken their exams."

"I reckon they're doing just fine without their Hogwarts diplomas," Seamus says seriously. "Business is booming for them."

"Those are your older twin brothers, right Ron?" Danielle asks curiously and the red head nods in confirmation. "That's crazy. Your family is so large… four kids, wow."

"Not just four," Hermione smiles. "Ron's one of seven siblings."

"What?" Tracy gasps as she looks to Ron in awe.

"It's true," He laughs, "My oldest brother's name is Bill. He works as a curse breaker at Gingotts. My second oldest brother is Charlie. He works in Romania, training dragons."

"Dragons!" Danielle widens her eyes, "Wow! I guess all you Weasleys are wild!"

"I know! It drives our mom nuts" Ron laughs. "But we aren't all like that. Percy is the third child. He's sort of the odd ball of the group. He works for the minister of magic right now. We haven't spoken to him in a while though since he helped the ministry spread the lies about Harry and Dumbledore. Then there's Fred and George, and then me. Ginny is the youngest."

"Your parents are crazy," Tracy declares with a laugh before frowning at her boyfriend who was causing a commotion by playing with a screaming yo-yo. "Harry! Put that down!"

"Sorry," He mumbles sheepishly. He puts the toy down, and they all head out to go check out Honeydukes, the candy shop, down the street.

"Anyway," Danielle raises her eyebrows at Ron. "I couldn't imagine having so many siblings. Just having one sister is enough for me."

"It's pretty crazy sometimes," Ron admits. "But I like it." Danielle sees Ron frown then and point, "Is that Pansy Parkinson?" Danielle turns quickly and sees the troublesome Slytherin girl stomping up to her and her friends looking angry. Seamus moves next to Danielle protectively but she pushes him back.

"If you guys try to defend me it'll be worse," Danielle tells them.

"You!" Pansy finally comes up and stops right in front of Danielle, "Just you wait until I tell Draco that his fiancée is out shopping with a bunch of Gryffindors while he is still held up in the hospital wing! He almost died and here you are laughing and joking with the guy who cursed him in the first place!"

"For your information, Draco knows that I'm here and who I'm with," Danielle says calmly. "And I don't see you making an effort to be with him either."

"I can't, remember? He told me to leave him alone" Pansy crosses her arms looking angry and embarrassed. "I really don't get how this happened. You don't deserve him."

"Neither do you," Danielle argues back confidently. "You don't know a thing about him except that he's rich and popular. If you really knew him, you wouldn't want him so bad. Unless you really are that desperate to be with someone who will only pretend to love you when you are out in public together?"

"What?" Pansy narrows her eyes at Danielle dangerously.

"Do you really think being married to Draco will be that great for you? Is his power and money worth having to conform to being someone you aren't? Is he really worth living a long, miserable, loveless, and lonely life?"

"Draco would love me!" Pansy stops her foot, "I know he would! He would love me because I'd be the perfect wife!" Danielle frowns and actually feels a little bad for the girl now. It was like she was brainwashed.

"Draco would use you to get a male heir and then leave you to rot," Danielle tells her seriously. "Yes, he'd probably shower you with gifts and buy you expensive things but it wouldn't be because he loved you. It would be to keep you happy and out of the way so that he won't have to put up with you."

"No…" Pansy defends, "No, that isn't true! Draco and I are meant to be together!"

"Yes, and you'll keep on telling yourself that even after you realize what a huge mistake you made," Danielle crosses her own arms now. "You'll turn a blind eye to your pain though, and pretend that you're happy because you won't want to admit to yourself that marrying the most handsome, richest, powerful pureblood in the world was absolutely nothing like you thought and were told it would be."

"How could you possibly know that?" Pansy asks then, looking uncomfortable.

"You know it too Pansy," Danielle says honestly. "You've seen it. It happened right in front of us at Malfoy Manor on Christmas Eve. None of those people are actually happy with their lives. It's all just a show. They go to these parties to brag about their money and status but have to go home to these huge empty homes with spouses that don't love them. It's sick."

Pansy sputtered over her words for a moment before stomping her foot again, "No! You're just saying this so that I'll leave you alone to be with Draco!"

"No I'm not," Danielle assures her. "I'm trying to tell you that you think Draco is so great when you could do so much better than him! He will not make you happy Pansy. If you marry him, you'll be wasting your potential. That's why I don't want to marry him either. I have hopes and dreams for my life. But, all that goes down the drain though if I have to force myself into the role of 'perfect wife'. And really, who is he to decide what a perfect wife is anyway? Is it so wrong to want to marry someone with ambitions? I'd like to see how he'd react if pureblood traditions were reversed. What would he do if he had to give up all his money and his home just to be able to secure himself a marriage?" Pansy was watching Danielle with wide eyes and she seemed to be overwhelmed by the Ravenclaw girl's rant. After a moment, Pansy just turned around and walked away without another word. Danielle wondered if her words had affected the Slytherin girl at all.

"That was a little harsh," Tracy says to break the silence.

"It was the truth," Danielle states feeling a little embarrassed to have gone on such a tangent in front of her friends.

"Do you really think she'd be miserable if she married Malfoy?" Hermione asks curiously.

"Yes," Danielle nods her head. "Draco hates her. He is really mean and cruel to her even now. She thinks being married to him would change that but it won't. She has this fantasy world in her head that just won't ever happen. Not with Draco at least. The sooner she figures that out, the better."

"I say let her marry him," Seamus shrugs, "That way at least you won't have to."

"Maybe Danielle can start a woman's rights movement among the purebloods," Hermione then suggests with a smile. "She could get them all to break free of tradition and leave all the guys like Malfoy without wives."

"Brilliant!" Ron laughs.

"Then perhaps they'd have to work for their women instead of the other way around," Tracy says teasingly. Danielle shakes her head.

"Let them liberate themselves," she laughs. "I just want to go to Honeydukes and get some candy!"

"Same here," Harry agrees. "Then I think a round of butterbeer at the three broomsticks is in order."

"I couldn't agree more," Danielle nods her head before leading her friends towards the candy shop.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty Seven

The next morning, Danielle once again made her way into the hospital wing to see Draco. When she sat down next to his bed, he was sitting up but looking just as bored as the day before.

"You're back?" Draco asks her looking surprised before changing his features into a scowl after remembering something, "How was your romantic day out with _Seamus_?"

"Calm down," Danielle laughs and shakes her head. "I wasn't even alone with him. Tracy and the others were with us the whole time."

"That's even worse," Draco frowns before changing the subject. "So, why are you here again? I'm in the hospital; this is your chance to be rid of me for a few days and you aren't taking advantage of it."

"I got you something from Honeydukes," Danielle shrugs as she pulls out a pack of licorice wands from her messenger bag and hands it to Draco. "I noticed yesterday that none of your so called friends had brought you anything."

Draco stared down at the candy in his hands with a blank expression, "You didn't have to do this." He tells her.

"Well, I still owed you for the quills anyway," Danielle shrugs. "I considered getting you a get well soon balloon too but the others would have thought I lost my mind."

"They would have been right," Draco says before handing the bag back to Danielle. "I can't accept this. You don't owe me anything."

"Oh, get over yourself," Danielle crosses her arms so that he couldn't give her the candy back. "Is this some sort of Malfoy thing? People aren't allowed to get Malfoys gifts or something?"

"Real funny," Draco says sarcastically. He finally gives up trying to hand the candy back to Danielle and sets it on his nightstand.

"Anyway," Danielle adds as she reaches back into her bag, "I brought you something else too." She pulls out a book; different from the one before. "This has a whole chapter on furniture potions. I thought you could read it yourself so that you know what we're doing. They all look pretty complicated but I think we can do it."

"Thank you," he says as he takes the book. Danielle was a little bit surprised by his politeness.

"You're welcome," She replies before hesitating. "So, how are you feeling?"

"A little better," He shrugs. "The whole front of my body still feels like it's on fire though." Danielle grimaces at the thought.

"Do they know if it's going to scar yet?" She asks him. Draco looks down and nods his head.

"It is," he tells her. "Madam Pomfrey says they'll be faint though. She did everything she could but it wasn't enough; stupid Potter." Danielle felt a little angry with Harry too. Draco would have to live the rest of his life with three long scars because of him.

"I'm sorry," Danielle tells Draco honestly. "I know it won't matter much to you but, Harry does feel really bad for what he did. You aren't going to retaliate though, are you?" Draco glares at her. "I'm not standing up for him or trying to protect him. I know he deserves a good hexing after what he did but I don't want you to get into trouble."

"Why should I care what you want?" Draco challenges.

"Because I'm your fiancée," Danielle crosses her arms and lifts up her chin with fake pride. Draco lets out a laugh and shakes his head. "What? Malfoys get whatever they want right? I'm a future Malfoy… that should count for something. Besides, what I want should be the same as what you want because what I want serves your best interest."

"Ok, ok!" Draco waves his hands for her to stop, "I'll leave Potter alone. But that's the last time you can use the fiancée excuse."

"I will use the fiancée excuse as much as I see fit," Danielle lifts up her chin even higher and sits up straighter in her chair. "I'm going to be a Malfoy and Malfoys do as they please!"

"I don't sound like that," Draco says with a smirk; knowing that Danielle was making fun of him.

"Yes you do," she laughs before standing up. "But, I really should be going. I'm going to try to catch up on some homework. Do you think you'll be out of here for potions tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I think so" Draco tells her, "I guess I'll see you then."

"Alright, sounds good" Danielle says with a wave, "Bye!"

* * *

"OH YEAH! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! HARRY POTTER I LOVE YOU!" Abby danced around the boy who was being hoisted up and paraded back to the school by his classmates. Danielle and Tracy laughed hysterically at the girl's obvious joy. Harry had just caught the snitch; ending the last Quidditch game of the school year and winning Gryffindor the Quidditch cup. "AND RON!" Abby turns to the red head with a huge grin before looking to his sister, "AND GINNY! All of you are just AWESOME!"

"Danielle, your sister is hilarious," Seamus says even though he was acting just as excited as the first year girl.

"I can't wait to be on the team," Danielle thought her sister might cry due to her overwhelming happiness. "I can't wait to win the Quidditch cup for Gryffindor next year!"

"You'll be brilliant!" Ron assures her before getting hoisted up onto another group of Gryffindors shoulders once they finally made it into the school.

"I guess we'll leave you to your celebrating then," Tracy calls up to her boyfriend who just nods and waves to her before being pulled up the stairs toward Gryffindor tower. Danielle laughs as she watches her sister jump up and down after the crowd of students dressed in gold and red.

"That was crazy." She looks to Tracy in amusement as they both head over toward the great hall for dinner.

"I know," was the response. "I'm glad they won though. With everything that's been going on, Harry deserves a break."

"I agree," Danielle nods her head. She sits down next to Tracy at the Ravenclaw table and starts loading up her plate. "But, we better get the house cup. It's only fair."

"I think Hufflepuff is in the lead right now actually," Tracy frowns as she looks over to the four large hourglasses behind the staff table that calculated the house points. "We still have two weeks left before exams though. That's plenty of time to get back in the lead."

"I should just play up my engagement in potions this week," Danielle offers with a smile. "Maybe Snape will reward me." Tracy shakes her head at her friend.

"It's sad because that would actually probably work," She says before sending a look over at the Slytherin table. "Speaking of your future hubby, he's been giving you quite a bit of freedom this week. What's up with that?"

"He's been having trouble doing anything because of the curse," Danielle frowns sadly. "The dark magic is really causing him a lot of discomfort. It's hard enough for him to get to all his classes right now without having the extra strain of… other stuff. It should be getting better soon though, according to Madam Pomfrey." What Danielle told her friend was true; Draco was still in a lot of pain due to the spell that Harry had thrown at him the previous week. But, that wasn't the only reason why Danielle and Draco had taken a break from the cabinet. Some of the ingredients that they needed for the potion were not kept at Hogwarts. Draco had been forced to write home to his parents to see if they could try to send him what they were missing. Danielle didn't like that they had to turn to someone else for help though. Asking Draco's parents to send stuff like that through the mail was risky and suspicious. They had no other way to obtain the ingredients though so Danielle had to hope that nobody decided to look through the mail too closely.

"What's he going to do once school is over?" Tracy asks her friend then. "He knows you're going back home to the states after exams right?"

"Hopefully I'll be done by then," Danielle says truthfully. She prayed that this potion did the trick because if not, she might not find a way to fix the cabinet before they had to leave school. She doubted that you-know-who would forgive Draco for running out of time either. Danielle's stomach twisted at the thought of failing after putting so much work in. If they didn't fix the cabinet though, she wondered what would happen. Draco would be forced to go into hiding or else you-know-who would kill him. Danielle wondered what would happen to Draco's parents then. It was for their safety that she and Draco were still working on the cabinet anyway.

"What about the engagement?" Tracy asks as she frowns at the ring which still occupying Danielle's hand. "Do you think you'll be able to figure that out within the next couple weeks?"

"I don't know," Danielle shrugs, "Probably not."

"I still can't believe you're engaged," Tracy shakes her head. "I mean, I know it's not because you want to be but still. Just the fact that you are engaged to anyone is crazy."

"Well, I can't believe that you're dating Harry freaking Potter," Danielle turns the tables. "You actually got him the real way too, so it's more impressive."

"Yeah but getting people the real way is easier," Tracy points out. "I just had to be myself. And I didn't have to get my whole family and their money involved either." Danielle laughs.

"I don't have a good come back for that," she admits with a shrug. What Tracy said was true and Danielle couldn't think of a way to twist it around.

"What?" Tracy asks in mock horror, "It's official, you've definitely been spending way too much time with Malfoy. His Slytherin–ness is impairing your usual quick wit."

"Actually, Draco keeps me on my toes." Danielle confesses, "Arguing with him is surprisingly sort of fun when he isn't actually insulting me."

"So you two do sort of get along then?" Tracy asks curiously, "I was wondering about that. It's hard to believe that Malfoy has agreed to work with someone so inferior to him and everything."

"I don't know if I'd say that we get along" Danielle looks up in thought, "He isn't really mean to me anymore but I think that's because he knows he needs my help."

"You must be an expert on him now that you've spent so much time with him," Tracy states seriously.

"There is a lot more to Draco Malfoy than meets the eye. You're right about that," Danielle nods to her friend, "But he's extremely cautious about letting me know that though. We'll talk and he'll open up a little bit but if he starts to feel vulnerable he'll immediately turn it into an argument. That's like his comfort zone. Anger is his defense."

"That's got to be frustrating for both of you," Tracy frowns sympathetically. "You're both trying to accomplish something and need to work together but don't really trust each other."

"Yeah," Danielle just shrugs. For some reason, Danielle felt weird talking about Draco in this way with Tracy. She felt like everything that she did get from Draco was confidential. Every tiny thing that he disclosed to her was a little bit of trust gained. Danielle felt like she needed to protect that trust; not exploit it. She trusted Tracy, of course, but she didn't feel like sharing the little things she'd learned about his mannerisms and personality yet.

"What about Dumbledore?" Tracy then leans a little closer to her friend so the other Ravenclaws couldn't overhear her. "Have you talked to him? Is there more for you to do once you're done with Malfoy?"

"I don't think so," Danielle sighs. "I only actually talked to Dumbledore the one time. He didn't want me or Draco meeting with him. Students don't normally see him on a regular basis so to avoid suspicion, Draco and I aren't supposed to be going to see him."

"That's strange," Tracy looks confused. "I can't wait until you can actually explain all of this to me. I still think it's bizarre that you and Draco Malfoy were assigned a top secret job by Albus Dumbledore." Danielle laughs at the odd description of her situation.

"Honestly, the truth is even crazier than that" Danielle admits. If only Tracy knew that the top secret job was actually assigned by you-know-who and that Draco Malfoy was a death eater turn coat. That would definitely throw her for a loop.

* * *

"Look at them, now" Blaise gestures for Tracy to look down to the front of the room to where Draco and Danielle sat. Danielle was stirring the contents of their cauldron while Draco counted out and measured different ingredients. "Malfoy's actually awake, and they're working together."

"Huh," Tracy looks at the two curiously. She hoped Blaise wouldn't start coming up with any hypotheses to explain this new change in behavior.

"Maybe Potter gave Malfoy brain damage with that curse?" The Slytherin asks. "He might have knocked a couple screws loose or something."

"Isn't this how Malfoy usually is though?" Tracy questions as she works on her own potion, "He was the best at potions before right? Perhaps he's just back to his old self again." Blaise shrugs and Tracy decides to remain silent as well.

"So," Blaise changes the topic after a few moments. "What are your plans for the summer?" Tracy turned to look at her partner oddly.

"I'm going back to the U.S," She tells him. "Why? What are you doing?"

"You're not staying here with Potter?" Blaise ignores Tracy's questions. "I thought you would since you've been recruited into his Gryffindor posse and everything."

"No," Tracy replies plainly. "Danielle, her sister, and I are going home."

"Emmings too?" Blaise looks shocked, "Not for the whole summer though."

"Yes," Tracy frowns, "the whole summer. That's the plan."

"Is the wedding taking place in the states then?" He asks looking genuinely confused.

"What wedding?" Tracy scrunches up her face.

"What wedding?" Blaise raises his eyebrows, "Your best friend's wedding, obviously. Surely the Malfoys aren't going to put this off until after graduation. That would give Emmings and her family too much time to change their minds. They're going to want this done quick."

"How many times do I have to tell you," Tracy says with a little laugh. "Danielle is not marrying Malfoy. His family doesn't need to worry about anybody changing their minds because Danielle didn't want this in the first place. Her parents were tricked."

"I think you're just in denial," Blaise smirks. "If Emmings wanted out of this marriage she would have found a way to do it already."

"Are you being serious right now or are you just trying to make me angry?" Tracy asks. She honestly couldn't tell if Blaise was being annoying on purpose or not.

"Would it be so bad if she did marry him?" Blaise questions once again ignoring Tracy's interrogations.

"Yes!" Tracy declares in disbelief. "How could you even ask that? They hate each other! Do you want them both to be miserable for their entire lives?"

"I don't think they'd be miserable," Blaise says in monotone.

"Well they certainly wouldn't be happy," Tracy retorts and Blaise just smirks.

"I guess we'll find out, won't we?" He asks her.

"No, we won't" Tracy argues just for the sake of arguing, "Because Danielle isn't marrying him."

"Alright," Blaise finally gives in with a disappointed sigh. "She's not going to marry him. But, I've got to say, that's the boring way out."

"If being with Malfoy is so interesting, why don't you just marry him?" Tracy narrows her eyes at the boy who laughs and flashes one of his rare smiles.

"Maybe if I swung that way," He grins. "I might have to shake things up though. Maybe I could have my mother work out something with the Malfoys to get them to give Emmings to me; or maybe her sister. She's a little young but she's a Gryffindor. That would be exciting." Tracy laughs now too.

"I could actually see that working," she tells the Slytherin. "If you want excitement, Abby would not disappoint. She's pretty extreme."

"It's settled then," Blaise feigns seriousness. "Tell her to watch for my owl."

"Her parents would be thrilled with that news," Tracy says sarcastically. "I don't think they'll offer you much for her."

"I ask only for their support and her loyalty," Blaise teases and Tracy shakes her head.

"And how would your family feel about that?" She asks and Blaise smile grows wider.

"All I have is my mother," He says, "And she'd be absolutely furious. But that's the point, isn't it? Someone has to stir the pot every once in a while."

"If you say so," Tracy laughs a little. Blaise really was a piece of work. He was definitely irritating sometimes, but he was also interesting. He constantly kept Tracy guessing. His quickness and sarcasm gave him a certain charismatic charm that made him annoying yet appealing at the same time. She wondered if all Slytherins were like that. She wondered if Malfoy was the same way after you got to know him. That was definitely food for thought.

**I've decided to put my author's note at the end this time just as an experiment. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! How do you feel about the progression of Danielle and Draco's relationship? Can you tell some of the hatred has died down? What do you think about Tracy? And what about Blaise? I enjoyed writing his character very much :) He's one of my personal favorites in this story. Anyway, please leave me some reviews!**


	28. Chapter 28

**I just want to give my sincerest thanks to xUninstall for being the first to leave me a review :) :) :) I really do appreciate your feedback, and I hope that you continue to enjoy the story :)**

Twenty Eight

"Do you remember how you measure the distance of stars?" Danielle asks Seamus who was extremely nervous for the upcoming Astronomy final exam. Draco had told her not to worry about the cabinet that day since their ingredients still hadn't arrived. Danielle decided to take the opportunity to catch up with the Irish Gryffindor.

"Uh," The boy rubs the palms of his hands into his eyes as he thinks, "Stellar something."

"Yeah," Danielle says, urging him to continue. He pulls his hands away from his face and looks to his tutor.

"Stellar Parallax?" He asks and Danielle smiles.

"That's right!" She pats him on the back proudly, "Now, do you remember how to measure it?"

"Yep, its distance equals one over the parallax angle" He tells her confidently.

"Right," Danielle nods her head. "I think you're going to ace this exam for sure."

"What about you?" He asks seriously, "I mean, you obviously know this stuff pretty well, but what about the other classes that you're taking? You've been so busy with Malfoy… how are you going to study?"

"I'll be alright," Danielle assures him. "Are you still upset about what he said to you guys before?" Seamus looks down and shrugs. "Draco is an instigator," Danielle tells him. "He says things just to make people angry."

"What he said was true though, wasn't it?" Seamus asks, "You're his. I can't have you." Danielle's face flushes. She couldn't really believe Seamus wanted her in the first place.

"He was just trying to upset you," Danielle tries to explain. "I'm not his property. I'm just unable to be in a relationship with anyone else right now because of the engagement. I think you're really great Seamus and I wish I could tell you when all this will be over, but I don't know. It's not up to me. But, just because I'm engaged doesn't mean we can't be friends or hang out."

"Can you just tell me the truth?" Seamus looks at her seriously, "Are you going to marry him?"

"What?" Danielle gasps. "You know I don't want to."

"Yeah, but are you going to end up marrying him anyway?" Seamus questions. "I know the Malfoys always get whatever they want. They might not let you back out, and what about your dad's business and the manor your mom bought and everything?" Danielle felt a little cornered by Seamus right now. She hadn't really thought about the engagement that much recently. The cabinet was her main priority. Draco had told her that they would figure out how to get out of the arranged marriage once this job was done. Danielle didn't know what to tell her Gryffindor friend.

"At this moment, I do not plan on marrying Draco" She says seriously, "and I hope I never have to marry a person I don't want to."

"Alright," Seamus seems to be satisfied with that answer. "I'm glad that we can still be friends though. Malfoy really bugs me when he tries to control you."

"Keyword there being tries," Danielle smiles and Seamus laughs. "And, I'm glad that we can still be friends too."

* * *

Tracy was sitting with Hermione and Ron at the Gryffindor table when Harry rushed in and plopped down next to them excitedly.

"Back from Dumbledore's already?" Hermione asks curiously.

"He thinks he's found another horcrux!" Harry blurts out.

"Really?" Ron asks quickly, "Where is it?"

"He thinks it's in the cave that Voldemort used to play in all the time when he was an orphan," Harry shrugs. "He used to sneak off to be alone there. It was before he knew he was a wizard."

"Weird," Tracy scrunches up her face. It was weird to think that you-know-who was ever a little boy who didn't know he could do magic.

"Yeah," Harry agrees with a laugh. "But, Dumbledore thinks he may have hid Salazar Slytherin's locket there."

"Are you still going with him?" Hermione asks with a frown.

"Yes," Harry says excitedly. "He's taking me tonight! Right after dinner! I just had to come down and tell you guys!"

"So soon?" Tracy immediately feels worried. She had a horrible feeling about Harry leaving. She just didn't feel prepared.

"It'll be alright Tracy, I promise" Harry tells her but Tracy wasn't convinced.

"Shouldn't you bring someone else with you?" She asks, "I know Dumbledore is strong Harry, and I know you are too, but what if you're ambushed or something?"

"Ambushed?" Ron asks in horror, "By what?"

"Death eaters," Tracy lowers her voice so as not to freak any of her classmates out. "And what if Hermione is right about the horcrux being guarded? You don't know what sort of horrible magic you-know-who may be capable of. Why can't some of the other professors go with you or something?"

"Dumbledore will be able to detect that sort of magic," Harry tells her, "I'm sure of it. And Voldemort doesn't want anyone knowing about the horcruxes so I doubt he'll have death eaters protecting them."

"I'm just so scared," Tracy admits. She knew she had to let Harry do this, but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. She was going to be worrying about him all night now. There could be any number of horrible things waiting for Harry in that cave. She just had to put her faith in Dumbledore. He wouldn't take Harry if it were too dangerous. At least she hoped.

"He'll be alright," Ron pats the girls arm.

"I'll be super careful, I promise," Harry agrees.

"Don't let your guard down Harry," Hermione tells him seriously.

"Yes," Tracy nods her head. "Please be careful."

* * *

Danielle walked into the room of requirement that night wondering if this would be the last time she would ever need to be there. Draco had received that last few things that they needed for the potion that day in the mail so they would finally be able to finish it and test it out.

"You didn't have to wait for me to get started," Danielle tells Draco with a nervous laugh. She was half excited and half terrified for this potion to be a success. She would be glad to be done with this whole situation but she also worried about what would come next. If they were able to fix the vanishing cabinet tonight, Danielle would have fulfilled her end of the deal with Dumbledore. It would be up to the headmaster to protect Draco now. She was done. But what if Dumbledore hadn't found a way to keep Draco and his parents safe? What if Draco refused to go into hiding without his mom and dad? Danielle had a hard time convincing herself that it wasn't her problem and that she shouldn't worry about it.

"I just have to add the last thing," Draco shrugs as he pulls two crystallized chunks of pine resin out of his school bag. "Once I add these we just need to stir it up until the potion changes color."

"You drop, I'll stir?" Danielle offers as she lowers her own school bag onto the floor and kneels down next to Draco by their steaming cauldron.

"Alright," Draco nods, "Here it goes." He drops the pine resin into the smoking concoction and Danielle quickly begins to stir it. After a few moments the liquid thickened and turned a light amber color. Draco looked at the potion with his eyebrows furrowed before looking back to the book in which they'd found the recipe.

"Is that it?" Danielle asks him as she pulls the stirring stick out of the cauldron.

"Yeah," Draco nods looking excited. "Looks like it came out perfect too."

"Right, so now we just have to give the cabinet a light coating of this stuff and we should be good to go," Danielle looks over at the vanishing cabinet warily. "It says the fresher the potion is the better so, we should get started."

"I hope this works," Draco says seriously as he dips a brush into the think substance and begins sliding it along the inside of the cabinet. Danielle hesitantly begins helping him. She tried not to think about what you-know-who might be using the cabinet for. She didn't want to feel guilty. She repeated Dumbledore's words in her head over and over and she continued to brush the potion on; "Doing this doesn't make you a death eater, it makes you a brave girl who did everything she could to save Draco Malfoy's life." When the cabinet was completely covered, the two sat down together to wait for the potion to dry.

"I hope this works," Draco repeats with a hopeful glance towards Danielle. The girl only shrugs as a response. She couldn't decide what she was hoping for at that moment. Draco lets out a sigh and leans his head back against the pile of broken chairs that they were sitting against.

"Can I see your arm?" Danielle asks to break the silence. Draco looked over at her nervously. He unconsciously pulled his left arm closer to himself protectively. Danielle just held out her right hand, "Please?" Slowly, Draco lifted his left arm and gave it to the girl. Danielle takes his arm and pulls down his sleeve to reveal the bright, ugly, black dark mark. Draco reflexively tries to jerk his hand away but Danielle holds him firmly in place. She begins to trace over the skull and snake with her finger. "Did he mark you personally?" She asks and Draco nods his head quickly. Danielle could tell that he didn't like her examining his arm so closely. She pulled his sleeve back down and pushed his arm away.

"Do you regret coming to Hogwarts?" Draco asks her suddenly and Danielle looks at him curiously.

"Because of you?" Danielle asks and he shrugs. "It isn't your fault that we're engaged. And, it was my choice to help you with the cabinet."

"Why did you agree to do it?" He asks hesitantly. "You took me to Dumbledore; you didn't have to do anymore. I haven't been exactly pleasant to you. You didn't owe me anything and you aren't really getting anything out of it."

"I get the pleasure of knowing you aren't dead," Danielle says honestly. "And, I don't care how much I dislike you. I wasn't going to abandon you and let you suffer when you didn't deserve it."

"Well," Draco looks down in embarrassment," Uh… Thanks. Thank you." Danielle laughs.

"You're welcome," She says calmly even though she was genuinely surprised that Draco had shown his gratitude so openly. It made Danielle feel even more confident that she'd made the right decision. She pushed herself off the ground then, "Now let's test this cabinet out." Danielle pulls out her wand and gives it a wave, "Avis!" Draco jumped up off the ground when a flock of birds erupted out of Danielle's wand with a loud bang.

"What the heck?" Draco gasped, "Why would you do that?" Danielle reached up and snatched one of the birds from the air before putting it in the vanishing cabinet and shutting the door.

"I thought we should use something living," Danielle explains. "It'll be harder to transport something so complex. We'll know the cabinet is really fixed if the bird comes back alive."

"Right," Draco replies and Danielle nods at him and gestures to the cabinet. He moves to stand in front of the old cupboard and begins reciting the enchantment that activated the vanishing cabinet. When he was done, he slowly opened the doors and saw that the bird was gone. He took a deep breath and shut the doors again.

"So far so good," Danielle wrung her hands together in anticipation now. Draco closes his eyes for a moment before repeating the enchantment. He turns to look at Danielle nervously before turning back to the cabinet and quickly throwing the doors open. The bird was back and seemed completely unharmed. It flew out of the cabinet, over their heads, and out of sight. Draco let out a half laugh half sob and covered his mouth with his hands. Danielle saw his eyes fill up with tears as he turned to her. He brought his hands to the sides of his face revealing a huge grin. Danielle thought Draco was almost unrecognizable with a real smile on his normally forlorn face. He lets out another laugh.

"I did it!" He gasps before gesturing to Danielle, "_We_ did it!" Danielle laughs too.

"Ok, we should try it one more time just to be safe though" She tells him and he agrees eagerly. She conjures up another flock of birds and they repeat the process. Once again, the bird comes back with no trouble at all. Draco could not keep the smile off his face. Danielle could tell he was extremely relieved. She couldn't really blame him though, she was relieved too. The months of sleepless nights, stress, and hard work finally paid off. Danielle was surprised when she felt Draco's arms suddenly wrap around her and pull her into a bone crushing hug. He pulls away quickly looking a little embarrassed.

"Aren't you happy?" He asks, "you're finally rid of me."

"Not quite," Danielle laughs lightly as she flashes the emerald on her finger at the boy. "But, we're getting there." Draco shrugs and finally lets out a sigh.

"Do you want to come back tomorrow to test it out one more time?" Draco asks her, "Just to see if the potion has any strange effects after it sits for a while."

"Sure," Danielle agrees. "That's a good idea. I guess I'll head back to my common room now then. It looks like we'll be getting to bed at a decent hour for once." Draco nods at her.

"Yeah," He says, "Well, you can go on ahead. I'm just going to clean up the rest of the potion."

"Alright," Danielle replies as she grabs her bag and throws it over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow!"

"Yeah…" Draco says with a wave, "See you."


	29. Chapter 29

**Just a quick thanks to Katherine who left me an awesome review! I'm so glad you've been enjoying the story (especially my portrayl of Draco). Hopefully everyone else is happy with him and the story as well!**

Chapter Twenty Nine

When Danielle gets back to the Ravenclaw common room, she finds Tracy looking extremely anxious. She was up off the couch and pacing around the room.

"Are you ok?" Danielle asks feeling concerned.

"Yeah," Tracy waves her friend off before wringing her hands together. "Just Harry has something with Dumbledore." Danielle couldn't imagine what Harry could be doing in his lesson with Dumbledore that had Tracy this upset. She didn't ask any questions though. She knew it was probably a secret. "I thought you were with Malfoy today."

"I was," Danielle confirms. "We're done." Tracy widens her eyes in surprise.

"Done for the night or done for good?"

"A little bit of both," Danielle shrugs. "I need to meet him one more time tomorrow. Then I'm going to go to Dumbledore for a debriefing of sorts. I need to figure out what happens next. I want to make sure everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to."

"Well, congratulations" Tracy smiles at her friend and pats her on the shoulder. Danielle smiles back.

"Thanks," She says appreciatively. Danielle felt good to have accomplished such a grueling task. She'd never had to do something so difficult or important in her entire life.

"Maybe you can finally beat Pokémon heart-gold now," Tracy raises her eyebrows at her friend who laughs.

"Yeah, I'm going to be so glad once I finally destroy that stupid Lapras" Danielle agrees with a laugh. "Then I can finally catch Raquaza!"

"I don't know why you're having such a hard time," Tracy shakes her head. "Your whole team is up to level 75 right?"

"I can't even remember right now," Danielle admits. "It's been so long since I've played. I think you're right though." The two's conversation was cut off then by a commotion outside of their common room. There was a bunch of noise coming from out in the halls. Tracy looked to Danielle, her anxiety over Harry resurfacing.

"What's going on out there?" She asks, "It's too late for people to be out right now. It's almost curfew. Everyone should be in their common rooms." Danielle feels a rock form in her stomach from nerves too. She had a very bad feeling. She suddenly wondered if she should go check on the vanishing cabinet. A few moments later the noise got louder and the two girls heard screams. They both jumped off the couch and pulled out their wands. They went out into the hall to find chaos. People were running around everywhere.

"Everyone please remain calm and get back to your common rooms!" They heard one of the school prefects shout over the noise.

"Abby," Danielle suddenly gasps and panic rises in her chest. "We need to find her."

"She'll be with Ron and Hermione," Tracy nods her head, "Let's go." The two girls sneak past the prefect and go up the stairs towards the seventh floor where the Gryffindor common room was located. Danielle knew that the room of requirement was on that floor too and wondered if Draco was still inside.

"Tracy! Danielle! Is that you?" Ron's voice suddenly cuts through the noise. The girls look up and see the boy coming down the stairs toward them with Seamus and Hermione.

"Yes!" Tracy answers, "Do you guys know what's going on?"

"Apparently there are death eaters in the school!" Hermione says seriously.

"What?" Tracy shouts in shock. Danielle feels a chill wash over her and she brings her hands up to her mouth. "How could they possibly have gotten in here?" Tracy asks and Danielle grits her teeth. She knew how they had gotten in. She also knew now what Draco's mission had been; fix the vanishing cabinet and let the death eaters into Hogwarts. Anger at Draco consumed her then. He had told her that they were going to test the cabinet again the next day. He'd betrayed her.

"I know!" Ron shakes his head, "But Dumbledore must have known something like this would happen. All the professors were ready immediately to get all the students back to their common rooms."

"Dumbledore knew?" Tracy asks in shock. Then her eyes widen and she turns to Danielle, "Dumbledore knew!" Danielle was now overcome with guilt. She looked away from her best friend, ashamed. She distracted herself by turning to Hermione.

"Where's my sister?" She asks.

"She's back in the common room," Ron answers. "We told her to stay in there where it was safe."

"Thank you," Danielle says gratefully before letting out a sigh of relief.

"What do we do now?" Tracy asks her friends then.

"We need to help the order fight!" Hermione declares. Danielle felt all the color drain from her face. Fight the death eaters? Danielle didn't know if she could fight a death eater. She didn't know if she could defend herself in a fight. And besides, was she really about to fight the people whom she'd been working so hard to let in? That was just ridiculous.

"What's the order?" Danielle decides to ask.

"They are a secret society formed by Dumbledore to oppose you-know-who and the death eaters," Hermione explains quickly. "If he really knew that this was going to happen, I expect they should be here by now."

"Merlin," Ron suddenly whimpers and points out the nearest window, "look!" They all look out the window and gasp. A huge dark mark was displayed in the sky, bright and green, above the school.

"The death eaters only put up the dark mark when they've successfully killed someone," Seamus croaks out in disgust. Danielle felt a wave of nausea. She covered her mouth again and turned away from her friends. Someone had died. Someone had died and it was her entire fault. Who had died because of her?

"We need to get down to the entrance hall, now!" Hermione states fiercely and clutches her wand tightly in her hands. Everyone nods and starts to follow her quickly down the stairs.

"Go Draco! He'll be here any moment!" Danielle froze in place and whips around to see a crazy looking woman with dark matted hair pushing a terrified looking Draco up a stairwell that led to the astronomy tower.

"Come on Danielle!" Tracy shouts up to her friend but Danielle just waves her off.

"I'll be there in a minute," She says without thinking. "I need to do something." Tracy looked over and notices Draco. She turns back to Danielle looking skeptical. "I'll be right there," Danielle repeats before turning and going up toward the blond haired Slytherin. The crazy woman had gotten sidetracked by another death eater so Danielle took the chance to grab Draco and pull him around a corner.

"LET ME GO!" He shouts and Danielle shushes him. His face fills with Panic when he realizes who had grabbed him. "What are you doing out here Emmings?! Get back to your common room!"

"You let them in with the cabinet!" Danielle accuses with a frown. Draco didn't say anything. He just looked over his shoulder in fear. "Why would you do that?!" Danielle pushes him roughly up against the wall causing him to wince since she'd shoved right on his chest where Harry's curse still caused him pain.

"I'm doing what I was told to do!" He hisses at her angrily. "You told me to go to Dumbledore and I did. He told me to complete my mission and I did!" Danielle faltered then. She didn't know if she trusted him. She honestly felt a little betrayed right now. Only about an hour before Draco had thanked her for helping him. Now he was running around with the death eaters that she had been trying to protect him from.

"Well then, what are you supposed to do now?" Danielle asks irritably, "What did Dumbledore tell you to do after you freaking let death eaters into the school?" Draco narrowed his eyes at Danielle, immediately getting defensive.

"I don't know!" He yells at her, "He didn't tell me anything!"

"What do you mean he didn't say anything, Draco? He said he was going to help you! You were supposed to tell him what you had to do so that he could help you!" Danielle shouts back. "Why did you do this tonight? We could have gone to Dumbledore to ask him what to do next!"

"I have to go," Draco then says as he looks over his shoulder. That crazy woman was calling for him again. "You need to get somewhere safe."

"You're JOINING them?!" Danielle thought she might hex Draco right there, "I… I can't believe it! I did everything I could to help you so that you'd be safe and now you're joining them!" Danielle was starting to feel hysterical with anger and guilt. She punched Draco right in the shoulder then, "How could you? I can't believe this! You let me help you do this terrible thing and now people are dying because of me!" Danielle covered her face and tried to make sense of everything in her head. She felt Draco grip onto her shoulders hard and he gave her a shake. Danielle lowered her hands and found the boy's blue eyes meeting her own confidently now.

"Listen to me," He says in a quiet yet firm voice. "I didn't want this! I don't want to join them! I still might not have to. There was… something else that the dark lord asked me to do. Dumbledore knows about that and maybe he's planned something. I don't know. But Danielle, I really need to go. You do not want to be caught with me right now."

Danielle just started at the boy in shock. First of all, he'd just addressed her by her first name. She wasn't sure what that meant. And also, he had a second job? Why hadn't she heard about this until now? Did Dumbledore really know about it or was Draco lying to her about that for some reason?

"Please don't go with them Draco," Danielle muttered then without even thinking. This whole situation felt surreal. There were death eaters in the school and she had let them in. She had just been doing what Dumbledore told her to do though. He had told her to help Draco, that it was okay. She had felt like it was the right thing to do as well. Did she still feel like that now? Danielle didn't know. She didn't feel anything right now.

"Get back to your common room and stay safe," Draco then commands; pulling Danielle from her thoughts. He looks at her straight on for a moment longer before stepping away from her and disappearing back around the corner where students, teachers and death eaters were still running around. Danielle closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths. She had to keep a clear head right now. She was in danger; everyone was. Right now, it didn't matter if Draco had purposely let her bring that danger into the school or not. The fact was, the danger was there and she needed to do anything she could to get it back out. She took one more deep breath before launching out into the hectic scene and making her way down to the entrance hall where she knew her friends were waiting for her.

When she made it down to the first floor she couldn't believe her eyes. It was packed with an intense battle. She ran right in without a second thought though. This was her fault. She had to make up for the terrible thing she had done. She lifted her wand at the first death eater she came across but was stopped by someone tackling her.

"Danielle! No!" It was Hermione, "The death eaters will know that you're engaged to Malfoy! You can't attack them! You're supposed to be on their side!"

"I'm not! Hermione! I'm not on their side!" Danielle defends her self urgently.

"I know!" Hermione tells her quickly, "But you still have the ring on! If they see you fighting it could be really bad! They might take you back with them or torture you or something!"

"Well what am I supposed to do then?" Danielle asks irritably but Hermione had spotted a death eater aiming his wand at a second year Hufflepuff girl and ran off to stop him. Danielle had never felt so torn in her whole life. This whole evening had been a nightmare. Should she really stay out of the fight? Would it really be any more dangerous for her than anyone else? This was not fair. She just wanted to help clean up the mess she had created. She wanted to help. Danielle decided that she needed to talk to Dumbledore. He would know the right thing to do. She just had to find him and ask him. She was just about to head back up the stairs when Draco ran past her without a second glance looking more pale and sick than she'd ever seen him. Shockingly, Professor Snape came down right after him looking just as distraught. Before Danielle could make sense of that, Harry came barreling down the stairs looking ready to murder someone.

"COME BACK!" He shouts, running past Danielle and going off after Draco and Snape, "STOP AND FIGHT ME YOU COWARD!"

"It's done! Come on!" Snape suddenly shouts and all the death eaters begin to fall back and run towards the exit. Danielle saw Tracy then, trying to push her way toward the exit to follow the death eaters. Everyone was rushing to get out onto the grounds now. Danielle followed them. Why had the death eaters listened to Snape? What did he mean by 'it's done'? This was all so bizarre. Nothing was making any sense anymore.

When Danielle finally got outside, she noticed everyone congregating around the bottom of the astronomy tower. She quickly located Tracy, Ron, Hermione, and Seamus among the crowd and moved to stand next to them. None of them told her to go away this time, thankfully.

"What is going on?" Danielle asks nervously as she stands up on her tiptoes, "What is that?" She sees a figure crumbled grotesquely on the ground.

"It's Dumbledore!" Someone finally shouts.

"Dumbledore's dead!" The words could be heard coming from all around the group of people now. Danielle once again felt her stomach twist dangerously. Hermione broke down into sobs next to her. Ron and Seamus put their hands on her back and shoulder in comfort as their faces too crumpled in pain.

"Oh no! This can't be!" Tracy gasps as she too begins to tear up. Guilt tore through Danielle and almost knocked her to her knees. She prayed that she was dreaming. There was no way she could live with herself now. She'd just caused the death of the most powerful and brilliant wizard around. The only wizard that you-know-who ever feared was dead. And Danielle felt as if it were all her fault. Harry was running back to the school now and pushed violently through the crowd of people to get to Dumbledore's body. He fell to the ground and began sobbing over the headmaster. Tracy, Harry, and Ron followed him to try and comfort him. Danielle covered her face and felt an overwhelming self hatred. The answer was yes, Danielle now did regret ever coming to Hogwarts.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

"It was Malfoy! He let the death eaters into the school using a vanishing cabinet in the room of requirement!" Harry tells Tracy, Ron, and Hermione the next morning. He was having trouble keeping his voice steady through his despair. "He had the dark mark. Voldemort told him to let the death eaters in and kill Dumbledore! I heard Malfoy explain the whole thing up on the astronomy tower."

"_Malfoy_ killed Dumbledore?" Ron chokes out in disbelief.

"No," Harry says. "He said he was supposed to. I don't think he wanted to though. He was lowering his wand when Snape showed up with some other death eaters."

"Snape?" Tracy asks in shock.

"Snape killed him!" Harry shouts in fury, "Snape killed Dumbledore!" Tracy couldn't believe what she was hearing. She couldn't wait to ask Danielle about all of this. The girl was a wreck right now though. She'd locked herself in her room and refused to talk to anyone. Tracy didn't think Danielle would ever help Malfoy with something like this. It didn't look too good for her though.

"But Dumbledore trusted Snape! He's been telling you for years Harry! Are you sure?" Hermione asks tearfully.

"It was him! I'm sure of it!" Harry sniffed, "Dumbledore and I had just gotten back from looking for the Horcrux. Hermione, you were right. It was protected. Dumbledore was weakened when we got back to the castle and noticed the death eaters. He couldn't even defend himself. I was there when Snape showed up. I saw him kill Dumbledore."

"Bloody hell," Ron mutters. "What about Danielle? Do you think she knew about this whole thing? She's been working with Malfoy all this time. I can't believe she'd help him let death eaters into the school though."

"Guys, please" Tracy can't bear to talk about her best friend yet. "Can we just hear her side of the story before you say anything? She's just beside herself right now. She won't even talk to me. I don't think she knew this was going to happen."

"She doesn't want to talk to you because she knows she's betrayed us all!" Harry says furiously.

"Harry," Hermione warns the boy. "Tracy doesn't want to hear stuff like that right now. And besides, we should give Danielle a chance to explain. You said yourself that Malfoy didn't want to kill Dumbledore. And didn't it seem like he knew this was going to happen anyway? The professors and the order were ready instantly. Maybe Danielle secretly told Dumbledore what Malfoy was doing or something."

"She also said that Malfoy was good though," Ron frowns to Tracy apologetically.

"We should hold off on judgment until we know all the facts," Hermione states firmly and Tracy thanks her. She sure hoped Danielle had a good explanation for everything. If it got out that Danielle had helped let death eaters into the school, she could be in serious trouble.

* * *

Later that day, Danielle finally sat down to talk with Tracy. First, Tracy told Danielle everything that Harry had witnessed on the Astronomy tower. Danielle wondered if Draco had really told Dumbledore the truth about both his missions from the beginning. Had Dumbledore known that Draco was supposed to kill him? If he had, than why hadn't he prevented it? The truth about Snape was shocking too. How could Dumbledore have hired a death eater to teach at Hogwarts? Danielle had so many questions but the only person who could answer them was dead.

"I can't believe any of this has happened," Danielle tells her friend as tears burn in her eyes.

"How much did you know about Malfoy?" Tracy asks blatantly then and Danielle covers her face to hide her guilt. "Danielle, just tell me the truth. I know you wouldn't have done all this on purpose. I need to know how all of this happened though." Danielle knew she had to tell Tracy everything now. It wasn't even an option. She couldn't have her best friend believing that she was a death eater or a murderer.

"That day I went to look for Draco in the bathroom" Danielle starts from the beginning, "I found out he had the dark mark. He looked terrible though. He was crying and just… a mess."

"He was crying in the girl's bathroom?" Tracy asks looking surprised.

"Yes," Danielle nods her head. "I saw the mark. He told me that he had been forced to take it. You-know-who had given him a mission and threatened to kill both him and his parents if he didn't succeed. He was failing though. He was afraid he was going to die." Tracy frowned at Danielle.

"You believed him?" She asks skeptically.

"I told him if he really didn't want to do the mission, that he could go to Dumbledore" Danielle replies. "I knew that Dumbledore could protect him and his parents. It took some convincing but he finally went with me to Dumbledore's office." Tracy's eyes widened.

"He turned himself in?" She questions eagerly. "What did Dumbledore do?"

"He told Draco that he and his parents could go into hiding," Danielle explains. "But Draco knew that his parents would never turn on you-know-who. Dumbledore suggested that Draco go into hiding by himself but he couldn't. Draco couldn't let his parents be punished for his choice to go to Dumbledore. So, Dumbledore told Draco that he should just continue to do his mission until he could think of a way to help save Draco's parents. Draco couldn't do the mission by himself though, like I said. So, Dumbledore told me to help him." Tracy shook her head in shock.

"Did he even know what the mission was before he asked you to help?!" She asks.

"I think so," Danielle shrugs. "Dumbledore made me leave the room when Draco explained his mission to him though. He didn't want me to know what the task was because he was afraid that if I knew I wouldn't help. So, I helped Draco fix the vanishing cabinet, but I didn't know what it was going to be used for. I didn't know he was supposed to kill Dumbledore either." A few tears leak out of Danielle's eyes then and she quickly wipes them away. "I feel terrible," Danielle mumbles, "Dumbledore is dead because of me."

"It's not your fault," Tracy tries to comfort her friend. "You were just doing what Dumbledore told you too. Do you think Malfoy really told Dumbledore the whole truth about his tasks though?"

"Hermione said that the teachers and the order were expecting the death eaters, right?" Danielle asks. "I think Dumbledore knew about that. I don't know though."

"What did he tell you when you talked to him in the hall?" Tracy asks curiously. "After the death eaters had already been let in."

"Mostly I yelled at him," Danielle lets out a tearful laugh. "I felt so guilty. I still feel guilty. He told me that Dumbledore knew everything. He said that Dumbledore hadn't told him what to do after the death eaters were in. He told me that he didn't want to leave with the death eaters."

"Do you believe him?" Tracy questions seriously. Danielle closed her eyes and thought.

"I want to," She admits.

"You told me that you helped Draco because you knew it was the right thing to do. I still believe you. I trust you and I trust Dumbledore," Tracy states confidently then.

"Dumbledore trusted Snape," Danielle points out. She could hardly believe that Tracy was defending her choice to help Draco still.

"We don't know the story behind that," Tracy says. "Dumbledore might have trusted Snape for the same reason you helped Draco."

"Why are you calling him Draco now?" Danielle asks feeling overwhelmed by her friend's support.

"You call him his first name for a reason, don't you?" Tracy folds her arms. "Calling him Malfoy puts him in a different context. Calling him Draco makes him see more human. I think you've always seen something more in him, maybe not consciously but you did."

"I knew he had the potential to be more than he allowed himself to be," Danielle shrugs. "But that's beside the point. That doesn't excuse what he did."

"Excuse what he did?" Tracy asks seriously, "He turned on his family and you-know-who! I would have never believed he'd do that. You did though. And yes, Dumbledore is dead, but Draco didn't do it. Snape did. Even Harry said that Draco was lowering his wand. He didn't want to do it."

"Are you just trying to make me feel better?" Danielle asks.

"I know you helped Draco for a reason. I know it was a good reason too or you wouldn't have done it. You only doubt your decision now because of the terrible things that happened. But Dumbledore wouldn't have allowed you to do it if it was wrong," Tracy declares.

"But…" Danielle tries to speak but Tracy cuts her of.

"You also told me that Draco needed you; that he didn't have anyone" Tracy reminds her, "Harry said that Draco wouldn't have killed Dumbledore and you say that he didn't want to be a death eater at all and that he didn't want to leave with the death eaters last night. I think you were right to help him. You are probably the only one who would have tried to help Draco instead of turning him in for being a death eater. He needed someone to help him. The guy couldn't even rely on his parents to protect him. But you did. You protected him. You probably helped that boy through the roughest time of his life."

"It's only going to get harder for him though now that he's with all of those other death eaters," Danielle sighs. "It's going to get harder for all of us."

"We'll get through it," Tracy promises. "We, at least, have each other."

"Yeah right," Danielle frowns, "Harry, Ron, and Hermione are going to want nothing to do with me now. It's obvious what I did. I just hope they don't turn me in."

"They won't," Tracy states, "We'll explain everything to them. I'll admit that they're suspicious right now. But they're just upset about losing Dumbledore. They need someone to blame. It's easy to make you a scapegoat right now."

"They'll never forgive me though," Danielle bites her lip to hold back fresh tears. "I might not have meant to, but I sort of did cause Dumbledore's death."

"Danielle, Snape killed Dumbledore," Tracy states firmly. "You didn't let him in the school. Dumbledore did. And even if Draco had killed him, you didn't let him in either. You were just doing what Dumbledore told you to do. You were doing what was right! Harry and the others will realize this in time. It's all just too fresh right now. Nobody's thinking clearly. We are all feeling angry, and sad, and confused." Danielle nodded her head at Tracy. She was so lucky to have such a loyal best friend. Danielle's actions this year even disgusted herself. It was nice to have Tracy to reassure her that she wasn't a murderer and that she had done the right thing. Danielle just hoped that Harry, Hermione, and Ron would come around eventually. And if not, hopefully they would spread the word that she'd been helping Draco. They'd both be in trouble if that happened.

* * *

**Hey everyone! Hope you all liked the chapter! We are nearing the end of PART ONE of the story so don't forget to keep on reviewing. It really means a lot to hear your feedback :)**


	31. Chapter 31

**Thank you to everyone who has left me reviews! I'm so happy to finally be getting some of those haha! And I'm so thrilled to know that people have been enjoying this story. It means a lot to me so thanks again. Here's the next chapter :)**

Chapter Thirty One

The next few days were terrible for Danielle. She could feel the people grieving the loss of Dumbledore all around her; teachers and students alike. There was a thick air of bereavement in the classrooms, common rooms, and hallways. Everywhere she went, Danielle was suffocated by the loss that was so evident in the school. It caused her to feel even guiltier than before. So many people had loved and looked up to Dumbledore and now he was gone. Harry's behavior especially was causing Danielle to feel miserable. He was refusing to talk to her or even be in the same room with her. Tracy told Danielle that it wasn't just her; Harry was avoiding everyone right now. It didn't ease Danielle's feelings of remorse though. She could do nothing to shake the guilt, especially when she started wishing she still had Draco for company. It was weird now for her to not see him every day after spending so much time with him.

Thankfully, after Tracy had explained everything to the three Gryffindors a number of times, Hermione and Ron had begun talking to Danielle again. They came to sit with her and Tracy at the Ravenclaw table sometimes when Harry was too upset to come down to meals. They asked her a lot of questions about Draco, Dumbledore, and the vanishing cabinet. Danielle answered everything as honestly as possible even though it pained her to repeat the story over and over again. Eventually, Hermione and Ron realized that Danielle was just as upset over Dumbledore's death as everyone else was and began to trust her again.

So, exams passed and soon it was the day to go home. Before the students left though, Hogwarts was holding a funeral for Dumbledore. It was horrible to have to sit in the great hall for breakfast that morning. Dumbledore's empty chair at the front of the room was a constant reminder of recent events. Danielle was sitting with Tracy awkwardly at the Gryffindor table as they ate. Hermione had invited her to sit with them so she wouldn't have to sit alone at the Ravenclaw table on her last day. Harry still hadn't said a word to her and she could tell he wasn't exactly thrilled to have to sit by her at all.

"I can't believe this is our last meal of the year," Abby cries. "I don't want to go home."

"I know," Tracy agrees with the girl as she looks to Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "I wish I could stay in England just in case anything else happens." The war had officially begun now. Some of the death eaters that had attacked the school were those that had broken out of Azkaban earlier that year. You-know-who was obviously gaining power fast and Tracy wanted to be around in case she needed to fight. She was 17 now which meant that she was considered an adult in the wizarding world and could make the choice to join the order if she wanted.

"I asked my mom if you could stay with us this summer," Ron tells Tracy with a sigh. "She says she wants to talk to your mom about it first. Maybe you could come back early and stay with us."

"I would like that," Tracy says before turning to Harry. "And you have to go back to stay with your aunt and uncle?"

"I'm only staying with them for a couple of weeks," Harry mumbles with a shrug. "Then I'll be staying at the Weasley's until we have to leave."

"Leave?" Abby asks and the Gryffindors exchange looks with Tracy. "Where are you guys going?"

"Harry, Ron, and I have a special job we have to do," Hermione explains cautiously. "We won't be returning to Hogwarts next year." Danielle looked up then in shock. She hadn't heard anything about this yet. Tracy frowned. She knew that her friends had to go off and find the rest of the horcruxes but she didn't really like the thought of coming back to school next year without them.

"You're coming back next year right?" Danielle asks Tracy who nods her head yes. Danielle lets out a sigh of relief. She was glad that Tracy wouldn't be going off with Harry and the others. She needed her best friend with her. "Good, me too," She says. "Hopefully by then I'll be rid of this stupid thing and I'll be able to actually do something useful." She points to the engagement ring. Hermione and Tracy look to her sympathetically and Harry and Ron just shrug. That's when the mail arrived and an owl swooped in and dropped a letter in Danielle's lap. She groaned when she saw the familiar Malfoy seal. This was never a good sign. She opened the letter and felt all the color drain from her face as she read.

"What is it?" Abby asks impatiently. Danielle just hands the letter over to Tracy so that she could read it to everyone.

"Dear Ms. Emmings: Unfortunately, due to recent events, all wedding plans will have to be put on hold. It is Lucius and I's desire to have you over at the Manor this summer though in order to give you a chance to integrate into the family. Your mother has already consented to this arrangement and has sent your things over so that a room will be ready for you once you arrive. I'll be at King's Cross station tonight to pick you up and bring you back. I'm looking forward to seeing you again, Narcissa Malfoy" Tracy drops the letter onto the table in disgust. Danielle had no idea what to say. She dreaded the thought of going back to the Manor.

"You can't stay there!" Ron scrunched up his nose, "The Malfoys are all death eaters! Their mansion is probably the worst place for you to be this summer!"

"Your mother can't possibly want you there," Hermione looked horrified. "The whole wizarding world knows that you-know-who is on the rise again by now."

"Her mother did NOT consent to this," Tracy states confidently while holding up the letter. "The Malfoys must have twisted the situation around again or something."

"What could they possibly have told her that would get her to agree to this though?" Ron asks in annoyance, "Danielle's mom knows that she doesn't want to marry Malfoy."

"I'm not going there," Danielle shakes her head. "Not after everything that has happened. I just can't spend my summer there. I won't."

"They didn't really leave you much of a choice though did they?" Hermione asks sadly, "It's convenient that you get the letter at the last minute. Now you have no time to contact your mother before you have to leave. And all your stuff has already been moved over there. I don't like that."

Danielle began to panic. You-know-who was on the rise and Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were two of his most loyal supporters. To live in their house now that the war had started, the mere suggestion had Danielle terrified. "I won't do it," She repeats, looking to Tracy for support. "I'll tell them no. I don't care if my mom consented or if it is what Draco's parent's desire. I don't care. I'm done with the Malfoys. Seriously, I'll just go with you and your mom when we get back to the train station today. I'll buy a plane ticket and worry about getting my stuff back later."

"Danielle, having you at Malfoy manor might not be a bad idea," Tracy confesses and everyone looks at her like she's nuts.

"Not a bad idea?" Danielle asks in shock. She had been hoping her friend would back her up on this. "Are you kidding?"

"You'd get to stay in England," Tracy explains before looking to Harry. "She'd have access to what you-know-who and the death eaters are doing. She could be sort of like a spy."

"You want her to live in a place full of death eaters?" Ron gasps, "That's mad! She could be killed!" Danielle agreed with Ron. Death was a very real possibility now, for everyone. What happened to Dumbledore proved that the threat of murder was not an exaggeration. The death eaters were not shy about using the killing curse.

"I don't know if I could stand it," Danielle tells Tracy. "I'd be completely alone in that big old place."

"You'd have Draco," Tracy offers and Danielle groans. "He still needs you Danielle." The girl in question covers her face with her hands. She didn't want to hear this. "Dumbledore wanted you to help Draco because you saw something in him that nobody else did. He needs someone who can remind him that he has a choice. He's probably been under pressure for his entire life to be a certain way and yet he's shown a desire to change. He can't do it by himself though. Who knows what sorts of things he'll be forced to do now that he's back with the death eaters. He doesn't want to be one of them though. He doesn't want to be a killer. You could help him remember that. You were the one who said it first but I'll say it again, he doesn't have anyone else."

"Dumbledore only wanted me to help him fix the stupid cabinet," Danielle states irritably. "He never said anything about me being his lifelong moral compass!"

"Yeah," Ron agrees, "Malfoy isn't worth it. Danielle should just stay as far away from him as possible. Look at where helping him has gotten her so far."

"Tracy's right," Harry suddenly joins the conversation and everyone turns to look at him in shock. "I'm not saying that just because she's my girlfriend either. I've watched Malfoy go from loathing Danielle's very existence to defending her in front of her friends. The day I cursed him he said something about how Danielle would never date someone like Seamus; like she was too good for Seamus or something when before she wasn't worth the dirt Malfoy walked on. He's found something he values in Danielle even though she's everything he's supposed to hate. Perhaps he can change." Danielle, Tracy, Ron, Hermione and Abby just stare at Harry in shock for a moment. The guy had hardly said a word that whole week and when he finally does talk, it's to defend Draco.

"Harry! Have you lost your mind? This is Malfoy we're talking about!" Ron shouts at his friend, "And even if he does 'value' Danielle or something now, I don't think that's going to protect her from the other death eaters!"

"Don't forget about the Engagement!" Hermione says all of a sudden as if she had just remembered herself, "Danielle can't just ignore the Malfoys. They have the ability to destroy her whole family right now. And we also don't know what sorts of magic were placed into the engagement ring. I can guarantee that there is something that will bind you to them in some way though. They might be able to track you with it. If they expect you to come and you don't, they could find you. And who knows what they'll do to you after that! It might be best for you to just obey them for now."

"Am I the only one that thinks this is insane?" Ron asks looking dead serious

"We know that it's insane RON," Hermione says sounding annoyed, "but it might be the safest thing."

"Sending her into a death eater head quarters is the safest thing?" Ron asks "Danielle your life might even be crazier than Harry's!"

Danielle just gave him a forced smile. She couldn't believe that all her friends except Ron wanted her to go and live with the Malfoys over summer break. What if they made her to do something truly horrible to help the death eater cause? What if Narcissa held a surprise wedding that Danielle had no way to get out of? The list of horrors was endless. If she actually went through with this, she'd be away from anyone she could trust for at least three months. Was it worth it? Was Draco Malfoy worth it? Danielle thought of the state he'd been in when she had found him in the bathroom before. She thought of the look on his face when he'd come down from the astronomy tower before fleeing Hogwarts with Snape and the other death eaters. He'd just seen Dumbledore murdered. The death eater thing was definitely not for Draco. But going to Malfoy Manor was not like helping Draco fix the cabinet. Danielle had still been in Hogwarts, under Dumbledore's protection. Going to the manor was like throwing herself into a snake pit. Could she do that for Draco? Danielle let out a sigh then. She probably didn't have much of a choice. If she refused to go with Narcissa today, she might have to go on the run or something if they could really track her down with the ring like Hermione thought. That could put her family in danger. Danielle didn't know which option was worse. She wished she would have gotten this letter earlier. If she had more time, she could try and think of a way out of this. She wished she could go to Dumbledore and ask him for his help.

Speaking of Dumbledore, McGonagall stood up then to make the announcement that it was time for the old Headmaster's funeral.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty Two

People showed up from all around the world for Albus Dumbledore's funeral. Danielle couldn't believe the amount of people spread across the Hogwarts grounds that morning. Years and years of past and present students, friends, colleagues, even the mer-people from the school lake and the centaurs that lived in the forbidden forest had showed up. There were hundreds of souls present; all that had been touched by Dumbledore's love and kindness. Danielle felt sick to her stomach for the entire thing. Never in her life had she felt so much guilt and self hatred. All of these people were suffering and she still felt responsible. She had played a role in eliminating something so precious and good from the world.

"Ms. Emmings, you are an extremely intelligent young lady and even if it was safe for me to do so, I'd have a hard time finding someone better for this job than you." Dumbledore's words echoed through Danielle's ears as she watched Hermione sob into Ron's shirt and Tracy do everything she could to console Harry. "What you've done for Mr. Malfoy tonight is truly honorable." Danielle bit back her tears. Had it been honorable? Or had she been leading Dumbledore right into Draco's trap from the beginning? Was it possible that Draco had agreed to go with Danielle that night because it was going to help him in two ways? He got someone to fix the cabinet for him and he gained Dumbledore's trust.

Danielle shook her head violently then. No, Dumbledore was the most brilliant and powerful wizard there was. Surely he wouldn't have been deceived by the likes of Draco Malfoy. And Harry said that Draco had lowered his wand. He wasn't a killer. But he might have to be soon. The thought made Danielle feel sick.

"I'm curious, what was it you were hoping I'd do with your fiancé once you brought him to me?" Dumbledore had asked her. Save him. That had been her answer. She had wanted to save Draco from having to become one of the people who he was probably with at this very second. Sure, Danielle had helped him fix the vanishing cabinet. But, she had still failed. Draco still needed saving. And Dumbledore had told her that she was the best one for the job. Whether he meant it or not, it was the only thing Danielle had. So, at the end of the ceremony, as she watched Dumbledore's body erupt in bright, white flames; encasing him completely in a beautiful white marble tomb, Danielle decided that she would go and stay at Malfoy Manor.

* * *

An hour later, Danielle was sitting with Tracy, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Abby on the Hogwarts express. It was weird to think of how much things had changed since the American girls had boarded the train for the first time in September. Tracy was now dating one of the most well known and famous wizards in the world, Danielle was engaged to the son of a dangerous death eater, and Dumbledore, the wizarding world's beacon of hope, was dead.

"You really aren't coming back next year?" Abby asks Harry and Ron sadly. She had come to idolize the two. They were rebellious like her, and they loved Quidditch.

"Afraid so," Ron pats the girl in the arm. "You should think about doing the same."

"What?" Abby asks looking outraged, "Why?"

"Now that Dumbledore is gone, there is no guarantee that Hogwarts will be safe next year," Harry explains with a frown. "Anything could happen by then and you're just a first year."

"But I'm a Gryffindor! I'm brave and courageous just like you guys!" Abby declares, "You fought bad guys when you were a first year."

"We know you're brave," Hermione smiles. "But this is serious Abby. This is war. There are death eaters who are working inside the ministry right now. Vo… Voldemort might be able to infiltrate the ministry by the start of next term. There could be death eaters running the school next year." Danielle thought Hermione was pretty brave for being able to say you-know-who's name. Harry had encouraged them all to start saying it. He said that fearing his name only gave the evil man more power over them. Danielle supposed that was true, but where she was going, it still might not be a good idea.

"My sister and Tracy are going back though," Abby points out.

"And they'll have enough to worry about without having to constantly check to make sure you're alright," Hermione says sternly. Abby lets out a sigh of defeat before looking to her sister.

"Are you really going to be stuck with a bunch of death eaters at the Malfoy's?" She asks.

"I hope not," Danielle tells her sister honestly. "But, it's possible."

"Just come back home then," Abby pleads. "I don't want to be stuck with mom all by myself!"

"You won't be by yourself!" Tracy laughs, "Don't forget about me! We'll be able to keep each other company for a while."

"I suppose," Abby sighs.

Soon, the train was pulling into King's Cross station and it was time for them all to part ways. Tracy and Harry immediately cling to each other. They all knew by now that Harry and the others were going on a dangerous mission this summer. If Tracy didn't get back to the Weasley's in time, she might not get to see or talk to Harry in person again for a very long time. Tracy knew that he wouldn't be able to communicate with her once he went off to hunt down the horcruxes with Ron and Hermione. Abby was just as sad to leave Ron and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, getting a little teary eyed himself to have to leave his new little buddy behind. Hermione was so worried about Danielle going off to the Malfoys that she was actually lecturing her.

"Just be careful," She tells Danielle sternly. "Keep your wand with you at all times! You're 17 now so you can do magic outside of school. Avoid arguing with Malfoy if you can. You don't want to anger anyone. It might be best to just not talk at all probably. They are expecting you to be a certain way so observe Malfoy's mother and do what she does. That should keep you out of trouble. If something should happen though, and you need to get away, do not use the floo network. They'll be able to find where you went right away. It's probably best to apparate. But they most likely have anti-apparition spells around the manor so you'll have to get off their property on foot before you leave. Otherwise, they'll be alerted right away to your escape."

"Hermione, you're rambling" Harry comes up and puts his hand on the girl's shoulder before looking at Danielle. "She's right though. You have to be on guard. I wouldn't mention to anyone that you're friends with me either. They could use that against you somehow or decide to torture you for information." Danielle was starting to feel overwhelmed by all of these warnings and advice. "Also," Harry continues, "You should know that Voldemort is skilled in legilimency."

"That means he can read your mind," Ron pipes in.

"I know what it means," Danielle frowns. "But you don't actually think I'll have any run-ins with him do you?" The thought made Danielle want to crawl under her seat and never leave the Hogwarts express.

"We don't know what you'll face this summer," Hermione tells her sadly. "That's why we want you to be prepared." Most of the students were off the train now so the friends could not put off their separation any longer. Harry and Tracy hugged each other one more time before they all walked out onto the platform. Harry was instantly snatched up by his muggle aunt and uncle and dragged away and Ron finds his sister before leaving with his own parents. Hermione told Danielle to be careful one more time and actually gave her a hug before going off with her family. Finally, it was just Danielle, Tracy, and Abby left with Tracy's mother and Mrs. Malfoy.

"Mrs. Ross!" Narcissa smiles pleasantly, "It's so nice to see you again."

"Likewise," Mrs. Ross nods to the woman politely even though her words were empty. Tracy had told her mother about the Malfoys tricking Danielle's family into the engagement so she didn't really like being around Narcissa at all. "Alright girls, does everybody have everything?" Mrs. Ross asks, "We better be off. We have a plane to catch."

"Yes, Ms. Emmings" Narcissa smiles over at Danielle, "We are on a tight schedule as well." Mrs. Ross looks to her daughter's best friend in panic.

"You're going with her?" She asks the girl with worry in her voice. Danielle looked to Tracy for help. Danielle was glad that Mrs. Ross cared enough about her to worry but she couldn't really say that she was being forced to go to the Malfoys right in front of Narcissa.

"Of course she's coming with me," Narcissa lets out a laugh.

"I thought you were just here to pick up your son," Mrs. Ross looks concerned for Danielle now. "Where is he anyway?" She didn't know all the details about what had happened the night the death eaters were let into the school; only that it had happened. She was eager to get her daughter and her friends as far away from this place as possible.

"Draco was injured," Danielle blurts out without thinking, "The night that everything happened. It wasn't anything serious, but he went home early. That's why I wanted to go back to the Malfoys, to make sure he's alright. I don't want to marry a gimp, you know." She lets out a fake laugh and her friend's mom looked at her curiously. It was obvious that she didn't believe a word out of Danielle's mouth. She was trying to figure out why she'd lie though.

"I'll explain it all to you later, mom" Tracy says to try to get her mom to leave it alone. There was nothing that either of them could do right now to help Danielle. It was best to just let Danielle go because making a fuss about it might make the girl's situation at the manor worse. Mrs. Ross didn't look like she wanted to back down but she could tell that the situation was serious and decided to trust her daughter.

"Well, alright" Mrs. Ross looks at Danielle. "Be careful though, and keep in touch." The woman then looks up at Narcissa, "I hope your son recovers quickly."

"Yes, I'm sure he'll be fine in a few days," Narcissa goes along with Danielle's lie. She couldn't really tell anyone that her son had actually left the school the night of the death eater break in because he was a death eater himself. "But, we really must be going now. We wouldn't want to keep you from missing your flight." Danielle and Tracy looked to each other warily now. This was it. This was the last time they'd get to see each other until September. They probably wouldn't even be able to have any correspondence at all over the summer. Tracy wouldn't have her best friend to confide in and Danielle would be stuck with only Draco as company. It was a terrible situation but they both knew that it was what had to happen for now.

"Take care of yourself," Tracy nods to her friend, trying to convey a million messages through her words. Danielle gives the girl a small smile.

"Same to you," she replies. "I'll see you all later. Have a nice summer."

Reluctantly, Danielle then turns away from her sister and her best friend to look at Narcissa, "Ok, I'm ready." The woman frowns a little before giving Mrs. Ross one last nod and leading Danielle away.

**Okay so this is the end of the first part of my story. Like I mentioned before, there is a completed sequel already written. I have decided to just tag it onto this story as a part two so that I don't need to make a whole new story. I think I'll wait a little while before I start posting the second part though. I'd like to see how this first part does before adding more. I might continue to post sooner if it seems like there is a high demand for it. That means, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! Haha! I want to know what you all think! The reason I wanted to post this story so badly is because I wanted feedback :) So don't be shy!**


	33. Part Two: Chapter One

**Hello everybody! So this is it! The first chapter of the second part of my story! I'm really excited for you all to read and react to it! And of course, I would like to thank everyone who has been leaving me reviews since part one ended. You have all been so kind and encouraging! I'm so glad that people seem to be loving this story because I've put A LOT of time into it. I started working on part one in 2009! Whoa! Haha! Anyway, I might try to space out my updates a little more than before. I know you don't want to hear that lol, but I just want to make the story last. We'll see what happens though, I might be so eager for you guys to read that I'll end up posting just as often as before (especially if I get a lot of reviews)! Alright, enough of me, here's the story.**

Part Two: Chapter One

After parting ways with her best friend and little sister at the Kings Cross train station, Danielle grabbed onto Narcissa Malfoy's arm so that she could do side-along apparition. She felt the strange tug behind her belly button and the sensation of being squeezed through a tube, before opening her eyes to find herself in front of the long gravel pathway in front of Malfoy Manor. She pulled her school trunk behind her as she followed Narcissa through a huge wrought iron gate and up the path which was lined with tall green hedges that led right up to front door. Danielle had never actually seen the manor from the outside before because the one time she had visited, she had come through the floo. The outside of the building was built with light brown limestone and had at least three floors that made up the main house. There were several taller towers with high pointy rooftops coming up from the sides of the structure though that gave it a castle like appearance. It was absolutely beautiful and Danielle could hardly believe that she would be living in the magnificent yet horrible place for the entire summer.

Narcissa walked right in once they reached the front door. They entered into what Danielle recognized as the entrance hall with its black marble floors and large crystal chandelier. The two women were greeted immediately by a house elf with large floppy ears and a dark birth mark around its right eye.

"Welcome home Lady Malfoy," The elf bowed down low at his master's feet. "And this must be Misses Emmings, Master Draco's fiancée! Welcome to Malfoy Manor Miss."

Danielle went to shake the elf's hand but Narcissa pulled her away with a frown. "Don't touch it," She snaps before looking back to the elf. "Inky, take Ms. Emmings' trunk up to her room. Then alert Lucius and Draco of our arrival."

"We've already been informed," Lucius then strolls into the room with an air of superiority that caused Inky to start trembling in fear. He was wearing expensive black robes and his long blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail at the base of his neck. He had the same bright blue eyes as his wife and son. "Draco should be down any second."

"Just the trunk then Inky, quickly" Narcissa waves her hand at the elf dismissively. Danielle watched the elf nod obediently before grabbing onto her trunk and pulling it over toward the stairs. Danielle felt bad for the poor little thing because he was struggling with the weight of all her belongings.

"I trust everything went smoothly?" Lucius asks his wife calmly, and Danielle feels a rush of hatred for the man. She wondered if he had been one of the death eaters that had broke into her school and attacked the students and teachers there just the week before.

"Yes, no trouble at all," Narcissa tells her husband before smiling over toward the main stairwell. "Ah! Draco! There you are." Danielle looked up and watched the boy's face change from one of indifference to one of shock as he realized she was there. Danielle had forgotten how angry she was with this boy until just now when it bubbled to the surface suddenly.

"Mother, what is _she_ doing here?" Draco asks, sounding slightly worried.

"Integrating into the family, of course;" Danielle smiles sarcastically as she gestures to the people around her. She had already forgotten her friend Hermione's warning about not talking or making anyone here angry. "Although, by the sound of it, I think it's you that needs integrating. It seems your parents have once again neglected to keep you informed of their plans. Don't feel bad though, they didn't include me either. Try finding out the day school ends that you don't actually get to go home."

"Watch your mouth, girl!" Lucius warns, but Danielle waves him off as her temper flares. "But you like surprises too, don't you Draco? It would have been nice to know that you were going to let death eaters into the school!" The boy's face paled and he shook his head for Danielle to stop.

"How on Earth do you know about that?" Narcissa looks to Danielle fearfully, but she wasn't listening.

"Do you ever think of anyone besides yourself?" Danielle shouts, "The students at Hogwarts are mostly children! Most of them don't know how to defend themselves! You're lucky none of them were killed. And why didn't you tell me about Dumbledore? Do you realize the situation you left me in? My friends pretty much hate me now! They wanted to blame ME for everything that happened!"

"Enough!" Lucius finally shouts, causing Danielle to quickly crash back to reality. "You will not raise your voice at my son or anyone else in my family. Is that clear?" Danielle tried to calm down, but everything she had been feeling for the past week was coming to a head, and she was consumed with anger. "Don't you dare try and tell me what to do!" She shouts at the menacing man, "I am an adult and so is your son! If he has a problem with the way I talk to him, let him speak for himself!"

"Watch it, Emmings" Draco narrows his eyes at her dangerously. Danielle decided that she already hated it here. She didn't want to be treated as an inferior being for the next three months or so. She just wanted to go home.

"I see this one needs an attitude adjustment," Lucius sneers down his nose at Danielle with disgust. "No matter, we'll have her disciplined in no time." Danielle was outraged at being talked about in this way. She was not a dog. She bit her tongue though, and stayed silent. Lucius smirked at her, "quick learner."

"Inky!" Narcissa then calls for the house elf, who materializes into the room instantly.

"Yes, Lady Malfoy?" the elf bows down once again before sending a fearful glance over toward Lucius.

"Take Ms. Emmings up to her room," Narcissa snaps.

"And as for you," Lucius turns to Draco. "I'd like to have a word with you in my office." Danielle didn't get a chance to say another word because Inky beckoned her to follow him up the stairs. She followed the elf up to the second floor of the manor, and through several different hallways before finally stopping at the right door. Inky pushed it open and Danielle walked in, taking in the details of her new bedroom. It was a decent size, but it was plain. There was a full sized bed covered in a thick plushy light blue comforter along the right wall, and a large oak antique wardrobe along the left. There was a matching desk pushed against the back wall under a large window that looked out over the gardens. In the back left corner of the room was a door that led to Danielle's own private bathroom.

"Inky has already unpacked your thinks Misses Emmings," the house elf speaks up after a minute. "So you should start preparing for dinner. It will be served in one hour's time." Before Danielle could reply, the elf snapped its fingers and disapparated out of the room.

"Prepare for dinner?" Danielle asks herself in annoyance. Her stomach was growling, wasn't that preparation enough? She wished Inky would have stayed to help her find her way back down once dinner was ready though. The manor was really big and Danielle didn't' want to get lost. She went to open her door, just to peek out into the hall, but found that it was locked from the outside. Her anger from before resurfaced then, and she had to hold back from pulling out her wand and blasting the door right off its hinges. So this is how it was going to be? Even though Danielle knew several spells that might unlock the door, she knew that she should just play by the rules. She didn't really want to go down and see the Malfoys anyway. Her day had already been stressful enough. So, she let out a sigh and decided to explore her new room some more to calm down. She went over to the wardrobe first, and threw open the large doors to find all her clothes from her school trunk and from her home back in the states neatly folded or hung up. After looking through to make sure everything was accounted for, Danielle looked through the drawers in the desk. They were filled with all her school supplies and some other odds and ends that her mother must have sent from home.

Thinking of her mother only made Danielle even more upset. She still had no idea why her mom had agreed to let the Malfoys take her in for the summer, and she had no way of contacting her to ask about it either. A wave of homesickness washed over her then. She missed her home back in the United States. She hadn't been there in almost nine months, and hadn't seen her mother in five. Danielle wondered if her father even knew she wasn't coming home yet. He would surely be furious when he found out; especially because he had wanted her to come home back in December when he had found out that the Malfoy's had tricked him and his ex-wife into putting Danielle into an arranged marriage with their son. Danielle fought off her tears as she thought of her family. Suddenly though, there was a knock on her door that caused her to jump in surprise.

"I'd answer the door but unfortunately I'm locked in," Danielle calls out to whoever was there. There was no response except for the door clicking open to reveal Draco. "What do you want?" Danielle snaps. Her irritation disappears momentarily though when she notices a dark bruise forming on the boy's left cheek, "What the heck happened to you?"

"Nothing," His reply was short and Danielle could tell he was clenching his teeth in anger by the way the muscles in his jaw tightened.

"It doesn't look like nothing," Danielle frowns. "That wasn't there earlier."

"It doesn't matter," Draco sneers before looking her up and down. "Why aren't you dressed for dinner?"

"Dressed for dinner?" Danielle repeats as she takes in Draco's black dress pants, green silk button up shirt, and black tie. For a moment, Danielle feared that perhaps Mrs. Malfoy hadn't put of the wedding plans after all. It would be just her luck to have a surprise ceremony in which she had no way out.

"Are you going to a funeral or something?" Danielle asks darkly, "Sorry, but one is about all I can take for the day."

"Our dinners are formal, and you are to dress appropriately." Draco frowns at the mention of Dumbledore's funeral that had just been held that morning at Hogwarts.

"I'm not dressing up for you and your stupid family," Danielle narrows her eyes. "Now, tell me what happened to your face. Did your father do that to you?" A familiar look of embarrassment and sadness flashes over Draco's face before disappearing. He was really good at masking his emotions but Danielle had been around him in enough strenuous situations to be able to pick up traces of what he was feeling.

"You aren't supposed to know about my involvement with the dark lord," Draco mutters finally. "Just keep quiet about everything we did with the cabinet, and do not mention Dumbledore."

"Why did you lie to me though? You said that we were going to test the cabinet out one more time!" Danielle could not keep the disappointment out of her voice, "Did Dumbledore tell you to really let the death eaters in? I thought once the cabinet was fixed, we could go back and talk to him about what to do next. When he said to help you complete your mission for you-know-who, I didn't think he meant for us to actually complete it. We were just supposed to play along with the whole death eater mission thing until he found a way to protect you and your parents."

"I can't talk to you about this," Draco snaps. "Now get dressed! My parents are waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"Me to escort you down to dinner," he replies irritably.

"Well, maybe if I wasn't caged in here like an animal, I could come to dinner myself!" Danielle folds her arms.

"My parents aren't going to let you roam free around the manor," Draco explains as if it were obvious. "They don't trust you."

"They don't trust ME?" Danielle lets out a laugh, "That's rich! They are the ones that shouldn't be trusted! I don't even understand why they want me here! I'd like to know what they told my mother THIS time to get her to agree to this. I swear if they threatened her in any way…" Danielle balled up her fists and made a violent ripping motion.

"Don't yell at me! It wasn't my idea! I didn't even know about this!" Draco argues, "Now get dressed before you get me into trouble AGAIN!" Danielle looks back up at the bruise on Draco's face and feels a pang of guilt.

"Does he hurt you often?" She asks him quietly.

"Change! Now!" He shouts, covering up his discomfort about the topic with anger.

"Fine!" Danielle shouts back. She goes and snatches some random things from the wardrobe that might be considered formal before going to the bathroom and changing quickly. When she comes back out, Draco gives her choice of clothing a dirty look before snatching her by the arm and dragging her from the room.

"Is there an owl here that I can use to send a letter to my mother?" Danielle asks as they make their way through the halls.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," was the short reply. "But I'll ask my parents."

"Why did you leave the school with Snape?" Danielle beings interrogating the boy, "Why did he kill Dumbledore? Did you know that he was a death eater? Did he know about what we were doing the whole time?"

"I told you that I can't talk about that!" Draco hisses in annoyance.

"Are you angry that I'm here?" Danielle suddenly asks and Draco closes his eyes and lets out a sigh as if her were stressed out by her question. He didn't answer her. When they made it to the doors that led into the dining room, Draco paused and looked Danielle in the eye.

"Do not speak unless spoken to, do not ask a million questions, and try to act normal," He tells her quickly.

"Normal?" Danielle lifts her eyebrows curiously.

"Just act how a girl is supposed to," He says but instantly regrets his choice of words when Danielle puffs up in anger. "You know what I mean," He adds.

"Act like a submissive pureblood wife then?" Danielle asks bitterly, "Seen but not heard?"

"Right," Draco shrugs before turning to enter the dining hall.

"Wait!" Danielle holds him back.

"What?!" was the annoyed response. Danielle pulls out her wand.

"I can heal that bruise," She tells him. "It's my fault that it happened and I feel bad. Let me fix it."

"Don't," Draco grabs her wrist and points the wand away, "They'll notice."

"I can at least make it stop hurting," Danielle offers. Draco looks over his shoulder nervously before turning back to her.

"It isn't that bad," He mumbles. Danielle could tell that he didn't like her knowing that his father had hit him.

"Please?" Danielle pushes and he grits his teeth.

"Fine, but make it quick will you?" he growls and Danielle aims the tip of her wand right underneath Draco's left eye, gives it a quick flick, and then pulls it away.

"You can do non verbal spells?" Draco asks impressively as he massages his cheek. Danielle only shrugs as a reply.

"How does it feel?" She asks.

"Better," He nods. "Now stop stalling!"

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter for part two :) Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think!**


	34. Part Two: Chapter Two

**A big thank you to Jasmine, Helena, Chii Maeda, Kerli19, LoveIt2, and all the other guests who've been leaving me reviews! If I keep getting feedback like this than I will definitely be updating more frequently! I'm glad everyone is liking part two so far as well. Here is the second chapter!**

Part Two: Chapter Two

"Tracy! I think you've got an owl from Harry!" Mrs. Ross yells up the stairs to Tracy who eagerly jumps up from her bed and races down the stairs at her mother's words. She hadn't heard from her boyfriend in three weeks and she was excited to hear what news his letter brought. Being back in the United States made it hard for Tracy to know what was going on with the war back in England. Her only source of information so far had been the muggle news, which didn't help her understand what was going on in the wizarding world at all. When she got to the kitchen, Tracy quickly grabbed the letter off the table and opened it.

Dear Tracy,

I miss you so much! I hope that you can convince your mother to let you come back to England to stay with the Weasleys before Ron, Hermione, and I have to leave. To tell you the truth though, I wanted to be gone by now. The sooner we get started, the better. Ron's older brother Bill is getting married in a week though, and Mrs. Weasley really wants us to stay for that. Well, she doesn't really want us to leave at all. But, I hope that you and Abby are safe and doing well. Does she know if she is going back to Hogwarts yet? Ron is really stressing out over that. I don't blame him. She will probably be safer if she stays in the states. Things are getting more dangerous around here every single day. Tell her that Ron and I miss her though! Anyway, Hermione wants to know if you've heard anything from Danielle. We're all worried about her. I feel really bad for being so upset with her before. I know she felt pretty guilty about everything that happened even though it wasn't really her fault. I hope she's doing alright over with the Malfoys. Did you ever find out why her mother agreed to let her go there? I really hate that we are all so far apart from each other. This is why I want to get started on my 'job' as soon as possible!

Well, I have to go. Mrs. Weasley is making me and Ron de-gnome the garden!

I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

XOXOXOXOX Harry

Tracy wipes the tears from her eyes and puts the letter back in the envelope. Even though it had not even been a month since they parted ways, Tracy missed Harry terribly. She was extremely worried about him, Hermione, and Ron. The war that was unfolding over in England was starting to get pretty serious, and Tracy's friends were the only ones who knew how to end it. Tracy was just hoping that she would be able to get to see her friends one more time before they left. She also wanted to get back to England so that she could find out if her best friend was alright. Going three weeks without seeing the girl she'd practically grown up with and not knowing if she okay was torture.

"You miss him," Mrs. Ross says when she notices the troubled, far off look on her daughter's face.

"I miss everyone!" Tracy tells her mother for the millionth time since she'd arrived home at the beginning of the summer. "You read the paper Ma'! It's crazy over in England right now! You-know-who is on the rise and more people are disappearing and turning up dead every day! I just want to be over there with my friends. I want to help them!"

"But it's so dangerous over there Tracy," Mrs. Ross had tears in her eyes. She always got upset when Tracy started talking about wanting to leave to go fight in the war. "I know you want to be closer to your friends, but I just don't like the thought of you over there. I don't even like that you want to go back to Hogwarts this year!"

"Mom, Tracy is seventeen now. I think if she wants to go you should let her." Tracy's brother Josh had just appeared in the kitchen. "Like she's told you before, the outcome of this war will affect everyone; wizards, muggles, the whole world. I'd go over there too if I thought I'd made a difference, but I'm not as quick with a wand as Tracy. She's strong and could do some real good, especially since she feels so passionately about it. And the order needs as many bodies as it can get since the ministry of magic over there can't seem to admit to itself that there is a war going on. And even if they did, they still probably wouldn't do anything about it."

"But Josh… she could die." Mrs. Ross's voice quivered at the thought. Tracy felt honored to be complimented in such a way by her brother, but she also understood her mother's concerns. She could die fighting in the war. Tracy felt that it was her duty as a witch though to fight for her freedom, and to defend those who were being oppressed.

"Mom, he knows that. I know that! But, I'm willing to take that risk! I'd rather die over there knowing I helped them than be here doing nothing!" Tracy pleads with her mother.

"I know," Mrs. Ross rubbed her face in her hands with the stress. "I just don't want to lose you… and just for a boy."

"It's not just for Harry!" Tracy throws her hands in the air, "It's for Ron and Hermione and all the other people I made friends with this past year! It's for all the non magical people who are being tortured and killed and for all the muggleborn witches and wizards who are being discriminated against! And it's for Danielle Ma'! I need to be over there so that I can get her away from the Malfoys! She's stuck in that manor, all by herself, with a family of death eaters!"

"I hate that," Josh speaks up with a frown. Tracy had told him and her mother about everything that had happened to the girl the previous year. "If there was a way to go and bust her out without causing a bunch of trouble, I'd go over there and do it myself!"

Tracy smiled when she thought of how Danielle would react if Josh came bursting into Malfoy Manor to save her. Danielle would love that because, like most people, she looked up to Josh. He was a super smart and well respected engineer that did research for the American magical transportation bureau.

"Mom, please! I don't want to upset you, but this is really important to me! The fate of the wizarding world lies in the outcome of this war, and I just know that I can make a difference!" Tracy was feeling even more determined now after reading Harry's letter and thinking about Danielle.

"I think you should let her go," Josh tells his mother again seriously before rummaging through the cupboards to find a bowl to make some cereal. "We need Danielle back."

"I know I have to let you go!" Mrs. Ross says and tears begin falling down her cheeks. "I'm just so scared after what happened last year; with Dumbledore dead and death eaters in the school."

"That's why I need to go mom!" Tracy says and pulls her mother into a hug, "If the order doesn't have enough people to fight and keep things under control, things in England could get worse! If you-know-who gains enough power, the trouble could even spread over here to the states. I want to prevent that. I want to make sure that the number of lives taken and families affected by this war are kept to a minimum."

"I understand," Mrs. Ross sniffs and wipes tears from her eyes with her thumb after pulling away from her daughter. "I really do. I want you to know though, that even though it might not seem like it right now because I'm upset, I am very proud of you Tracy. It is very brave and noble of you to stand up for what you believe in like this. It's easy to stand aside and hope that someone else will do it for you. I know without a doubt that you'll be a great asset to the order, but I just want you to promise me you'll be careful."

"Thank you so much mom," Tracy lets out a sigh of relief. "And I will be careful, don't worry."

"I'll write to Mrs. Weasley tonight and let her know to expect you soon," Mrs. Ross replies with a sigh. Tracy smiles at her mother appreciatively before looking to her brother who gives her a nod of approval. It made Tracy extremely happy to have her family's support. But now, she had to go call Danielle's little sister Abby, and tell her about Harry's letter and that she was finally going back to England.


	35. Part Two: Chapter Three

Part Two: Chapter Three

"This Lapras is getting _ridiculous_!" Danielle growls at her game boy in irritation. She still hadn't defeated Ash on top of Mt. Silver, and was starting to think she'd never win this final battle so that she could finally catch the oh so coveted Rayquaza. She had to keep trying though because it wasn't like there was much else to do when you were being held captive at Malfoy Manor.

It had been three weeks and so far, Danielle had only been allowed out of her bedroom for meals. Draco's parents refused to let her send out any mail to her family or friends even though she even offered to let them read it first, and the only time that she got to talk to Draco was during the five minute walk to and from the dining room. It was extremely boring and really lonely. She hated having all the free time that gave her mind the chance to wander and think about how messed up her life was. Sometimes she found herself regretting taking Draco to Dumbledore for help after she had found out that he had been forced by his parents to take the dark mark; effectively making him a slave to the world's most powerful dark wizard alive. If she had just left him to fail the task of fixing the vanishing cabinet, the great Albus Dumbledore would still be alive, her friends would not be questioning her loyalty, and she'd be at home right now in her own country with her younger sister and best friend. But no, she had to take pity on the poor misunderstood rich boy and try to save him and his prejudiced evil pureblooded death eater family.

Danielle saved her game and stuffed it under her mattress. It was almost time for Draco to come get her for dinner, and she didn't know how he or his family would react to having a non-magical, muggle, object in their precious pureblood home. And, if they did something to it when she was so close to being the Pokémon champion, Danielle was going to throw a conniption fit. She let out a sigh and started searching through her clothes, trying to find something nice to wear. It was almost impossible though. Danielle wasn't the kind of girl to just have lots of ball gowns and dresses on hand. If it were up to her, she'd go down to dinner in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She'd love to see the look on Mrs. Malfoy's perfectly made up face if she did that. She finally found a pair of black dress pants and a nice top though, and threw it on just in time to hear Draco knock on her door.

"I've come to escort you to dinner miss," He smirks before bowing, taking Danielle's hand, and kissing the top of it. He'd realized from the start that she found him taking her down to dinner every single day ridiculous. So, he tried to cheer her up by being overly chivalrous to make fun of his own family's etiquette.

"Cut it out," Danielle chastises him while suppressing a small smile before allowing him to take her arm in his. Draco sighs as he looks over to examine her attire.

"We really need to get you some better clothes," he says, causing Danielle to quickly lose her temper. The tiny amount of entertainment she'd gotten from the moment before instantly turns to irritation.

"Here's a better idea. How about you actually come talk to me during the day sometimes to save me from going stir crazy out of the overwhelming boredom of spending hours alone in my bedroom?" She asks angrily. "Your mother said her intention for bringing me here was to integrate me into the family, not keep me in solitary confinement!"

"I'm sorry!" Draco snaps back at her, "It's not like I asked her to bring you here."

"Yeah, but you could at least come and keep me company once in a while," Danielle argues, "Or am I so unworthy of your Malfoy presence that you can't even spare me a moment or two out of your day?"

Draco shakes his head at her as if her annoyance amused him, "You're lucky that I allow you to speak to me like this all the time. If you were to talk down to my father in this way, he'd have you punished."

"That's because your father can dish it out, but he can't take it. He has to rely on scare tactics and threats in order to get people to listen to and obey him," Danielle waves her free hand as she talks. "_You, _on the other hand, are capable of earning people's respect without resorting to bullying. You just have to decide whether or not you're willing to make the effort."

"You know, I'm pretty sure there was a compliment somewhere in there," Draco smirks over to the girl as they reach the doors to the dining room. Danielle just shrugs before going into quiet, pretend I don't exist mode, as they walk through the doors. She wished that her room was further away so that she'd have more time to talk to Draco everyday. She had a million things she wanted to ask him about the day the death eaters were let into the school, and about how Dumbledore died, and what the death eaters had him doing now. She wanted to know if she could trust him or not. But she couldn't ask him any of this in front of his parents who were always around whenever she was anywhere near Draco.

Silently, Danielle allowed Draco to lead her over to the dining table. He pulled out her chair before sitting down in the one next to her. Lucius was at the head of the table which was to Draco's right, and Narcissa was sitting to her husband's left, across the table from her son. As soon as they were all settled, a handful of house elves rushed in and began serving each of them a small salad as an appetizer.

"Now Danielle, how many times must you be told not to wear pants to dinner?" Narcissa scolds after a moment. Danielle clenches her fork irritably in her hand to keep from having an angry outburst at the comment.

"I'm sorry," she states as politely as possible before shoving a fork full of salad into her mouth so that she could not be asked anything else.

"Mother, I don't think she actually has anything here that would be much better" Draco speaks up then. Danielle eyes him cautiously, not knowing whether he was defending her or making fun of her.

"Are all American girls this uncouth?" Lucius sneers over at his son's fiancée. Danielle looks down at her plate and does her best not to let the insult get to her. It was irritating though that this man could complain about Danielle when he and his wife had been the ones to choose her specifically for their son. Of course, they hadn't picked her for her ladylike manners or charm. They'd picked her because she was a pureblood with an overly trusting mother and a wealthy father that they could manipulate and use to their benefit.

"Please refrain from slouching at the dinner table," Narcissa sighs and Danielle forces herself to lift up her chin and straighten in her chair. This whole aristocratic, well to do lifestyle was really starting to wear her down. She had no idea how Draco had put up with this for seventeen years. The older woman nods at her before turning to her husband.

"I suppose I'll have Inky take down her measurements tonight then," She informs him. "I'll visit Diagon Alley tomorrow, and have the lady at Twilfitt and Tatting's put together something more befitting of a Malfoy that Danielle can wear." Danielle felt outraged at Narcissa's suggestion. She was not a Malfoy and had no desire to be done up like one either.

"Very well," Lucius nods his head. "We can't have the girl disgracing our name once we start hosting the meetings for _him_." Danielle looked over to Draco curiously after hearing this comment. Who was this 'him' that Lucius spoke of? The boy wouldn't meet her eyes though, which sort of confirmed Danielle's suspicion that they were talking about the evil lord to which they served.

"He'll be arriving soon then?" Narcissa asks her husband.

"Yes, he wants to use the manor as a sort of base," Lucius says through a grimace, and Danielle wonders why the man didn't seem more excited.

"Won't the ministry get suspicious with that many people coming and going all of a sudden?" Narcissa wonders as she grips her napkin hard on her lap. "I know they've been watching the floo network carefully lately."

"The ministry will not be a problem in a few days time," Lucius announces and Danielle's heart begins to race. Hermione had warned her that something like this might happen! The death eaters were going to infiltrate and take over the ministry of magic. This news was huge. Danielle wished now more than ever that she had a way to communicate with her friends. If she could warn someone, perhaps the order could do something to stop this terrible event from occurring.

"Lucius, I'm not sure if I want him here," Narcissa says looking a little guilty.

"We do not have a choice," Lucius says sternly, "He is still upset with me over what happened in the department of mysteries. We can't afford to displease him again." Danielle widens her eyes in shock. Her friends had fought the death eaters in the department of mysteries inside the ministry of magic the year before she'd moved to England. She remembered that Harry had told Tracy about it. The details were fuzzy though. Danielle didn't remember hearing anything about Lucius being there. What had he done that had angered you-know-who? Danielle had been under the impression that the Malfoys were favored by the dark lord. Isn't that why he had chosen Draco to take the dark mark at such a young age, and why he had also been given the job of fixing the vanishing cabinet and killing Dumbledore in the first place? But that whole logic had been fishy to Danielle from the beginning. The horrible truth was starting to put itself together inside her head, and her stomach clenched at the picture that was forming there. After dessert, she eagerly grabbed onto Draco's arm so that he could take her back to her room.

"You-know-who is angry with your father," She looks up at him to watch his reaction. His face only hardened as he worked to hide his thoughts and feelings from her. "Draco, you-know-who made you take the dark mark as a punishment to your father didn't he? He gave you those impossible jobs because he knew you'd struggle and most likely fail. You were supposed to die. Your father was supposed to pay for whatever he did with your life." The mask on the Draco's face faltered, and his face contorted with mental anguish which let Danielle know that she had hit the nail on the head. Her heart broke for him. The fact that you-know-who would use Draco in such a way was sick. "What did he do?" She asks him, "What did your father do to deserve almost losing his only son?"

"Emmings, just stop" was all Draco managed to get out. Danielle keeps quiet for only a couple seconds before having to question the boy some more.

"And now you-know-who is going to be invading your family's house and bringing his death eaters here?" Danielle asks Draco in disgust.

"That is what it looks like," Draco tells her quietly.

"I don't like that," Danielle says feeling scared. How would she be able to keep her sanity while living in the same house as Lord Voldemort? She was already constantly on edge and jumpy without the most evil wizard in the world walking the manor's halls.

"I don't particularly like it either," Draco replies.

"He isn't going to make you do anything else though, is he?" Danielle asks Draco, feeling worried for the boy. "You fixed the cabinet. You did what he asked. You'll be done now right?" They were at Danielle's door now which meant the conversation was going to have to end soon.

"I don't know," Draco mumbles before looking up and meeting Danielle's gaze. "I hope so."

"Can you please just stay here for a minute," Danielle pleads. "There is so much that I don't know. I just want to talk to you for a little while."

"I can't," Draco says apologetically. "My parents don't want you knowing too much. They're still angry that you knew I had the mark, and that I had let the death eaters into Hogwarts."

"Why does it matter if I know what's going on?" Danielle asks in disappointment. "I can't tell anyone anything anyway since I'm locked up all the time. Who am I supposed to tell?"

"I don't know!" Draco says and looks over towards the stairs nervously. Danielle feels anger spark up inside her. She had helped Draco complete his stupid mission for you-know-who just so that his life would be spared even though doing so went against everything she believed in, and had resulted in the death of Dumbledore. Danielle felt like Draco could at least try to help her out a little now by telling her what was going on outside of her bedroom prison.

"So you're just going to keep me clueless then, huh?" Danielle snaps at him, "I'm going to stay locked up in this room with nobody to talk to until the war is over? Is that it?"

"Shhh!" Draco puts his finger to his lips, "I'm sorry I can't answer any of your questions. I want to! I just don't want to give my parents or anybody else an excuse to harm you!"

"I hate them so much," Danielle looks down and clutches her fists. "I hate it here."

"I know, and I'm sorry." Draco says before pushing open Danielle's door, indicating that the discussion was over. Danielle glares at the blonde before turning around and slamming the door in his face. She knew it wasn't his fault that he couldn't talk to her or answer her questions, but she was just frustrated. She was bored from having to sit in the same room every single day. She was sick of being talked down to by Draco's parents. She was tired of being kept away from the person whom she'd agreed to come here for. And now, Danielle was absolutely terrified because you-know-who and his death eaters were going to be coming around the manor. Ever since Danielle had decided to move to England and attend school at Hogwarts with her best friend, her life had gotten progressively worse. All she really wanted was to get out of this arranged marriage, get away from Malfoy Manor, and get away from England. She had tried, over and over again, to do the right thing, but for some reason, it always came back to bite her. And it made her sick to know that the Malfoys continued to cater to you-know-who's every want and desire when he constantly treated them so horribly. How could Lucius and Narcissa live with themselves, knowing that they were doing everything in their power to help the man that had tried to kill their son? It made no sense. It was so wrong that Danielle could hardly comprehend it.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! What did you think? Things are starting to get rough for both Draco and Danielle. They are in a tough situation. How do you think it'll play out? What are your predictions? Leave a review to let me know!**


	36. Part Two: Chapter Four

Part Two: Chapter Four

Tracy had not been prepared to feel so guilty after being met with the look of disappointment on Danielle's little sister's face. Abby was the kind of girl that loved to be involved with whatever her friends were doing at the time. She thrived on being in the middle of all the action. So, being left behind in the states while her friends and sister were off fighting a war was agonizing for her.

"You're going back to England already?" Abby asks with a frown. "We've only just come home though."

"I know," Tracy tells her sympathetically. "But things back in England are getting pretty bad. I want to go and join the order now so that I'll have some time to work with some of the older members before having to go back to Hogwarts. I want to be as prepared as possible for when I have to fight."

"I want to go back to Hogwarts too," Abby says longingly. Tracy understood exactly why the girl was so upset. Hogwarts wasn't just a school. It had become like a second home for the American girls. Abby, especially, had found that she fit in perfectly with the other students in Gryffindor house where she had been placed upon her first day in the castle. Tracy couldn't imagine not going back.

"I know you do," Tracy pats the girl on the shoulder. "But, you'll be able to go back just as soon as it's safe again."

"The war isn't going to be in the school though" Abby argues, "All the fighting is going to be in other places."

"Not necessarily," Tracy sighs trying to reason with the girl. "Remember what Hermione told you about the death eaters working inside the ministry? And besides, Harry and Ron agree that you should stay here as well. They said so right in the letter I showed you."

"I know," Abby says in defeat. "Mom's already signed me up for school here anyway."

"It's a good school! Your sister and I went there for five years." Tracy tells her before adding, "I'll admit that it doesn't have a thing on Hogwarts, but you'll be fine."

"I wish I was older though!" Abby pouts, "Then I could go back and fight with you!"

"I know," Tracy understands how she feels. But Abby was only twelve years old. There was no way she'd last in a fight with a death eater.

"Promise you'll write to me all the time?" Abby asks hopefully and Tracy nods.

"You haven't heard anything new about your sister have you?" Tracy asks finally.

"Nothing aside from what I already told you," Abby says, "The Malfoys told my mother that they would reimburse her a third of what she spent on this huge house if she agreed to have Danielle stay over there for the summer. They said they wanted to give her and Malfoy a chance to work through their differences before doing anything drastic like calling off the engagement."

"Inviting Danielle to their home and having their son propose to her without any warning in front of a crowd of ministry officials and death eaters was drastic," Tracy shakes her head in disgust. "Not to mention the fact that they asked your dad to give up a portion of his profits from his apothecaries to Lucius and had your mom buy this huge mansion just so that Danielle would look like a more desirable choice of wife. Does your mom even know that the Malfoys are followers of Vold… uh … Voldemort?" Abby cringed a little. Most people feared Voldemort so much that they couldn't even speak his name. Harry and Dumbledore were the only ones who had been able to say it so freely before. Now, Harry was encouraging all his friends to say it as a way of disempowering the man once known as Tom Riddle.

"She knows," Abby nods her head. "And she doesn't want my sister over there either. But, what choice does she have really? This isn't exactly a great time to be upsetting a family of death eaters. Not unless we want to make it into the headlines as being the next people to mysteriously end up missing."

"That's true," Tracy frowns. "What about your dad? How's he doing in all of this?"

"The weird thing is that even though my dad has to share his money with the Malfoys, he's making even more money now than ever. Apparently he's been getting huge orders from big name companies all over Europe lately. Potions research facilities and hospitals; all because of the new connection with Malfoy's dad."

"Yeah but, he's still against your sister marrying Draco, right?" Tracy asks nervously.

"Oh, of course," Abby assures the older girl. "He'd give it all up if it would bring her home. He understands the situation though. He knows that the best way to keep Danielle safe right now is to just play along."

"I just hope she _IS _safe," Tracy says honestly. "You know how she is around Draco. I hope they keep the bickering to a minimum. All those two have right now is each other."

"You really think Malfoy cares if she's there?" Abby asks skeptically.

"I think there might be a whole other side to Draco that nobody has ever seen," Tracy speculates. "All we've seen him do is strut around the school, making fun of people and putting them down if they don't have a magical background. That isn't self confidence though. That's Malfoy confidence. He knows how to be mean and cruel; like a Malfoy. It comes easy to him because that is all he's ever known. I don't think he knows how to be Draco though. I don't think he knows how to be himself. He's grown up around people who only care about the blood status, wealth, influence, and power that comes with his name. Nobody's probably ever tried to get to know the boy behind the money before."

"You think my sister could help him be his real self?" Abby asks looking a little confused. "What makes her so special?"

"I don't know," Tracy shrugs, "Harry, Ron, and Hermione have been trying to get Draco to leave them and their friends alone for years. But didn't you notice that he and all the other kids from Slytherin house left you alone after Danielle asked him to?"

"Yeah, but he's still mean to her. And he hates people who don't have magical parents, like Hermione" Abby points out.

"I know," Tracy agrees. "I didn't say he was a saint or anything. But anyway, I should probably get back home now. It's almost time for dinner and I still have things I need to pack before tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll walk you to the floo," Abby replies with a sigh.

"Good idea, I don't want to be getting lost in this huge place" Tracy laughs. "I still can't believe you live here. How many bedrooms are there again?"

"Ten," Abby grimaces, "Five on the second floor and six on the third. And we have six bathrooms. Can you believe it? Six! And at least one sitting room on each floor!"

"Holy crap," Tracy shakes her head. "Well, maybe it'll all be put to good use once you start filling it up with children after you're married."

"Are you out of your mind?" Abby laughs, "The only ones who'd be able to have enough kids to fill this place are the Weasleys!" Tracy can't help but laugh along. It was true that the Weasley family was large.

"Alright Abby," Tracy tells the girl once they finally find the fireplace in the first floor entrance hall. "Promise me you'll stay out of trouble while I'm gone. Keep your grades up and don't forget to let me know whenever you hear anything about your sister."

"Okay," Abby promises. "I still wish that I could go with you though."

"I know you do," Tracy replies. "But we'll still keep in touch. I'll ask Harry and Ron to write you some letters before they leave as well." Abby's eyes lit up at that.

"Okay! And tell them that I miss them and can't wait to see them again," she jumps up and down on the balls of her feet excitedly.

"I will," Tracy smiles as she grabs some floo power and prepares to leave. "Bye Abby!"

"Bye! Be careful!" Abby calls out and Tracy nods before activating the floo and disappearing back to her own home.

* * *

After rifling through the new contents of her wardrobe, Danielle let out a sigh of annoyance before grabbing a dress at random and ripping it off the hanger. It was a full length, V-necked, brown satin evening gown with a belt to clinch at her waist and black lace and beading along the neckline. Danielle slipped it on and looked in the mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door. The dress fit her perfectly and it made Danielle angry to know that the dress was tailored especially for her. She hadn't asked for this nor had she wanted it. She frowned at her reflection before going into the bathroom to throw her dark auburn hair up into a pony tail. A few minutes later and she heard the familiar knock on her door.

"Good, you're ready," Draco says after he opens the door. He didn't smirk at her, or bow, or kiss her hand. He just took her arm into his and led her out into the hall.

"What's wrong?" Danielle asks immediately after noticing his odd behavior. The worried look on his face gave her a bad feeling.

"We have guests today," Draco says warily and Danielle's stomach instantly knots up.

"You-know-who?" She asks fearfully.

"No, just followers" Draco replies which only makes Danielle feel a little better. "But he will be here later tonight though. And call him the dark lord from now on. In your position, calling him you-know-who sounds a bit odd. It might draw the attention of the other death eaters. You don't want that."

"I don't really plan on talking at all to be honest," Danielle looks over to the blonde haired boy.

"It'll be alright," Draco reassures her even though he looked a bit nervous himself. "They won't do anything to you."

When Danielle walked into the dining room and saw the long dinner table packed with people, she instinctively tightened her grip around her fiancé's arm. Her heart began pounding in her chest as she took in the sight of the group of mostly men. Some of them looked just as clean and put together as the Malfoys, but others looked worn down and dirty. Danielle figured these were the ones that had escaped from Azkaban prison and been on the run from the ministry. A couple of them even looked wild, like all human sanity had been drained away; leaving behind a rabid killer. Draco gave Danielle's hand a comforting squeeze before pulling out her chair. She sits down as gracefully as possible, hoping that her face looked as cool and collected as Draco's did. Danielle could feel the stares of these savage people as Draco sat down next to her, but she refused to meet their eyes. She suddenly remembered that she had her wand with her and wondered how many of the death eaters she could take out before they finally killed her. At least then she would feel like she had done something useful. Outside of these walls, innocent people were being murdered and here she was sitting and dining with the people doing the killing.

Several minutes passed before Lucius entered the room with Narcissa. The two looked just as confident and unaffected by being in a room full of convicts and murderers as their son. Danielle knew better now though than to believe this façade. The Malfoys were walking on thin ice right now and the other death eaters probably knew it. Voldemort was angry with them and Danielle felt pretty sure that the evil guy didn't give out second chances too often. Lucius and Narcissa were going to have to really suck up to their dark lord now and work even harder to impress him so that they could stay in his good graces. This dinner was probably the first of many tests of loyalty that you-know-who would throw at them.

"Welcome everyone," Lucius gives a business-like smile as he stands at the head of the table, "I am honored to have you all here as my guests this evening. It truly has been too long since we've all sat together in one place, hasn't it? And it is thanks to the dark lord that we are all able to be reunited in this way. So, let's celebrate his rise back to power with this marvelous feast." Lucius finally sits down in his chair and the room is instantly filled with house elves, carrying trays of food and bottles of wine. The death eaters along the table dig in and fill the room with the sounds of clanking silverware and idle chitchat.

"So, you're the future Mrs. Malfoy?" The sandy haired, rich looking man next to Danielle asks. Her whole body stiffens with apprehension. This man didn't look as frightening as some of the others, but he was still a death eater. She quickly looks to Draco who nods at her to let her know that she was allowed to answer this man's question. She could see a warning in the boy's eyes though; she needed to behave and play the role of Draco Malfoy's perfect fiancée tonight. So, after taking a deep breath and straightening up in her chair, Danielle turns back to the man who had addressed her.

"I'm happy to say that I am," She smiles and nods her head proudly. For an added effect, she flexes her fingers on top of the table cloth to attract his eye down to the large emerald on her engagement ring. The man raises his eyebrows and smirks before looking to the head of the table.

"Where did you pick this one up Lucius?" He asks in amusement. "She definitely leaves much to be desired. I certainly wouldn't have chosen her for my boy. I do hope that her parents compensated you for accepting such a mundane girl into your family." Danielle saw red. Her hand involuntarily shot toward where she had her wand stowed under her dress, but Draco noticed her retaliation and caught her hand before she could do anything foolish. She turned and boldly met his gaze, trying to convey to him how furious she was without actually speaking. Draco only shook his head at her though, and continued to hold her hand in his as a reminder for her not to lose her head.

"I do believe you've upset the girl now, Nott" One of the only women at the table spoke up now with a demented grin. It was the same one with the matted dark hair that Danielle had seen talking to Draco the night Dumbledore had been killed. Danielle could tell this was one death eater that she should definitely avoid crossing paths with. The man next to her seemed to feel the same way because he just shrugged and went back to his dinner. The woman continued to look over at Danielle though. "She almost looks as if she could be one of those Weasley blood traitors, don't you think Cissy?" She turns to Narcissa with a frown, "I don't think I could bare such a disgrace to our family." Danielle looked to Draco in confusion. Was this woman related to him?

"Ms. Emmings is not associated with the Weasleys at all," Lucius answers for his wife. "In fact, the girl was born and raised in the United States. She's only been here in England since September."

"Really?" A large vicious looking man with dark stringy hair that grew all around his face and rotting yellow teeth speaks up from the other side of the table. He was staring at Danielle with a predatory smile and beady black eyes. "And she'll be here all summer?" Danielle instantly felt terrified of this man who was looking her up and down. He seemed almost animalistic in appearance. Danielle moved closer to Draco without thinking and tightened her grip around his hand. She hoped her face wouldn't betray her fear because that would most likely only encourage this disgusting man.

"While you are all here I expect you to treat my family and all its possessions with the utmost respect, Greyback," Lucius sends the man a warning glare. Thankfully, the man nodded at Lucius and turned away.

"Will the Dark Lord really be here tonight Lucius?" A tall man who was sitting next to Narcissa chimes in now to change the subject. The rest of the death eaters look up from their meals so they could hear the senior Malfoy's answer.

"It's true," Lucius confirms with a deceivingly proud nod of the head, "Our Lord will be here with us tonight. He wishes to finalize the plans for the ministry takeover that we will be executing in just a few days time."

"Excellent," another dirty looking death eater to Danielle's left grinned, "But I've noticed that Snape and the Carrows are not here this evening. Should I take this to mean that there are plans for the school?"

"Oh yes, the dark lord has some very special plans for Hogwarts this year." Lucius smirked before turning back to his dinner. Everyone in the room seemed delighted with the news they had been given, but Danielle was horrified. She really hoped that her sister would not be returning to England for school this year. If only there was a way for Danielle to send Abby some sort of warning. She wanted her sister to be safe.

"You-know-who is really going to be here tonight?" Danielle asks Draco as he leads her out of the dining hall to take her back up to her room after dinner. Danielle kept pulling back and trying to walk slower so that she could have more time to ask questions.

"He will probably be in and out very frequently this summer," Draco confirms her fears. The thought of the evil Lord Voldemort being in the same place as her sent chills of fear through Danielle's body. But complaining about it was a waste of time. She had other things she wanted to know about.

"That man that sat next to me," Danielle says quickly. "That was Theodore Nott's father?"

"Yes," Draco nods again and gives Danielle a tug to walk faster.

"And the woman?" Danielle asks, referring to the dark haired death eater who'd made fun of the Weasleys.

"My Aunt Bellatrix," Was the reply. "My mother's sister."

"They aren't making you go to the meeting with you-know-who, are they?" Danielle questions while still trying to get Draco to slow down his pace.

"I have the mark," Draco explains, "I have to go." They were already standing outside of Danielle's door. The walk seemed to get shorter and shorter every day. Danielle was feeling a bit panicked about Draco having to see Voldemort.

"It'll be alright though," Danielle suddenly feels the need to comfort Draco. "You've done everything he's asked. You fixed the cabinet and Dumbledore…" Danielle trailed off suddenly realizing something. "You didn't kill him! Snape did! Will that matter? Will he punish you?"

"Calm down, will you?" Draco puts his hands on her shoulders to try and get her attention. "It's just a meeting."

"Well… can't you come back here after?" Danielle asks and tries not to feel embarrassed. She didn't think she could wait until the next morning to know if the boy in front of her was alright. Danielle then wondered if all the death eaters were staying at the Manor that night. The creepy man from before then popped into her head and Danielle had to know, "Who was that other guy? Why was he looking at me as if I were something to eat?"

Draco sighs, "Because to him, you are something to eat." Danielle blanched and Draco continued, "Fenrir Greyback, he's a werewolf. He loves to prey on younger people, especially kids. My parents hate him, but they can't say anything since he's fiercely loyal to the dark lord."

"He's not staying here, is he?" Danielle asks Draco then fearfully, "Did you see how he was looking at me? I don't want him near me."

"He won't be staying here, don't worry." Draco says finally pulling his hands away from Danielle and moving to walk away. "I'll keep an eye on him though." Danielle grabbed Draco's sleeve so that he couldn't leave.

"But what about you-know-who?" She asks him. The dark lord would, of course, know that Danielle was there. The Malfoy's couldn't hide the fact that she was at the manor, even if they wanted to. "I know he can read minds! What if he finds out I'm friends with Harry? What if he decides to use me as bait or as a hostage or something?"

"He won't." Draco says but she can tell that the idea clearly unnerves him.

"Well I can't sleep knowing he's here!" Danielle says honestly as every horrible scenario that could possibly happen starts to play in her mind, "What if he pops into my room in the middle of the night and murders me? Or tortures me for information about Harry or the order?"

"He won't," Draco repeats, but once again, Danielle's concerns seem to affect him. "I'll see about coming to check on you after the meeting though." Then, he nods his head at her stiffly before turning and walking away down the hall. Danielle was left feeling more nervous and alone than ever. She quickly reaches down to pull her wand out from under her long brown skirt and clutches is it in her fists tightly. She quickly shuts her door and changes into a pair of jeans. For the rest of the night, she sits at her desk, staring at the door, fearing that something horrible may decide to burst in at any moment.


	37. Part Two: Chapter Five

**Hey everybody! I want to give another huge thank you to everyone who has been leaving me reviews! It's so interesting to hear all of your thoughts and opinions! I wanted to clear something up though. A few people have been asking about Danielle's appearance since Bellatrix compared her to the Weasleys. Danielle isn't a full blown red head like everyone in Ron's family. Her hair, at least in my mind, is a dark auburn color. It's more of a dark reddish brown than a bright orange. I also pictured her with SOME light freckles not a lot though). So, she doesn't actually look anything like a member of the Weasley family, but she does have some features that could lead the death eaters to make the comparison if they wanted. Bellatrix mostly made the comment in order to insult Danielle. She'd noticed that Theodore Nott's father's comment had upset her nephew's fiancee and wanted to try and push her even further to see if she could get Danielle to lose her temper. I don't want to go into much more detail about the physical appearance of her character because I don't want to ruin the images you've all already created for her. If you have any more questions though, feel free to ask. :)  
**

Part Two: Chapter Five

"It's so good to finally meet you!" Mrs. Weasley cries as she engulfs Tracy up in a hug. The girl had just arrived at the Weasley's home, which everyone called the burrow, and she was overwhelmed with how friendly and inviting everyone was.

"This is Fred and George," Ron tells Tracy and points to the two read headed twins standing next to him. They were taller than Ron, but just as thin and freckle faced.

"I've heard a lot about you guys," Tracy laughs as she shakes their hands. She notices that George had gauze around his head and wondered what had happened. She knew the twins were members of the Order of the phoenix, but hadn't heard anything about there being any fighting yet.

"And she's just in time for the wedding, tomorrow!" Mr. Weasley moves forward and pats the tiny girl on the back affectionately, even though he hardly knew her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione laugh at Tracy being smothered with Weasley attention for a moment before finally pulling her away from the crowd and up the stairs to the bedroom that Harry and Ron shared.

"That was ridiculous," Tracy lets out a laugh after the door was shut.

"Well, that's my family" Ron grins and shrugs his shoulders, "They can't help themselves sometimes."

"I'm so glad you made it though," Harry says before pulling his girlfriend into a tight hug. Tracy lets out a sigh, feeling happy to be back where she belongs.

"How's Abby?" Ron asks trying to break up the couple before things got too awkward.

"She's fine," Tracy pulls away from Harry and they all sit down to catch up. "You'll be happy to hear that she's staying back in the states this year."

"Thank goodness," Ron looks relieved at this news.

"That's one less person we'll have to worry about," Hermione nods seriously, "Any news from Danielle?"

"No," Tracy says, the worry for her friend evident in her voice. "Nobody's heard a word from her since she left Kings Cross with Draco's mom. And before you ask, Danielle's mom never actually gave the Malfoys permission to take her to the manor, but there was no way for her to refuse them either. She doesn't want to anger them since they're death eaters."

"This is awful," Hermione says looking guilty, "maybe we shouldn't have encouraged Danielle to go the Malfoy's after all."

"We told her to go there because going along with the Malfoy's wishes is safer than trying to fight them," Ron says to comfort the others. "That's still true, isn't it? As long as she plays along with the engagement and everything she should be fine."

"Yeah, but do you think Danielle _WILL_ play along with it?" Harry asks looking skeptical. "I mean, I know she wouldn't just openly defy the Malfoys. But she isn't exactly the type to just roll with the punches. If they push her enough, she'll push back."

"Sure, but she's also super smart," Ron says trying to stay optimistic. "She won't let those sods get the best of her."

"I hope you're right, Ron" Tracy says and Hermione pats her on the back.

"She'll be fine. Don't forget that the Malfoys owe her. If it wasn't for Danielle, Malfoy would have failed to fix that vanishing cabinet and Voldemort would have killed them all," she explains.

"But, I don't think the Malfoys know that Danielle helped Draco," Tracy frowns. "That would mean that they know he also went to Dumbledore and betrayed Voldemort. They wouldn't like that."

"Malfoy knows what Danielle did for him though," Harry states fiercely. "And, if he has a single decent bone in his body, he'll make sure that nothing happens to the girl who saved him and his family's lives."

"You know the word's gone wacky when you're relying on Malfoy to do the right thing," Ron lets out a small laugh to try and lighten the mood in the room.

"By the way," Tracy then remembers the twins downstairs. "What happened to George?" Harry, Ron, and Hermione exchange depressed looks then and Tracy knows that something really bad must have happened.

"He got his ear blown off," Ron was the first to break the news, "By Snape."

"Snape?" Tracy gasps in shock, "When did you see him?"

"You know that Harry went back to his muggle Aunt and Uncle' house at the beginning of the summer," Hermione begins the story. "But, to get him back here to the Weasleys, the order had to come up with a plan to transport him safely. Since there are death eaters working in the ministry, using the floo network was out of the question. And because Harry wasn't 17 yet, he couldn't apparate because of the magical trace that the ministry puts on all under aged witches and wizards."

"The order was afraid that the death eaters might be watching Harry's uncle and aunt's house too. So, a whole escape plan was put together. Unfortunately though, we were ambushed right from the get go," Ron lets out a sigh as he recalls what happened. "We were swarmed by death eaters. They attacked us from all angles. It was horrible. But anyway, that's when George lost his ear. One other order member was killed too, poor bloke. Thankfully, most of us got away unharmed though. Even Voldemort himself was there." Tracy was stunned by what she was being told. While she had been at home, sitting around her house and watching the TV for any shred of news, her friends had been in an actual battle. They had fought death eater, come face to face with Voldemort, and even lost a member of the order! What if it had been Harry? What if it had been Ron or Hermione? Tracy had been aware of the danger that her friends were in but she was still shaken to the core by this information.

"I can't believe this," Tracy shakes her head as she tries to wrap her head around it all. "I'm so glad that you're all ok."

"It was a close call," Hermione nods her head. "But, it could have been a lot worse. If the order hadn't planned and prepared the way it had, the war might have been over before it even began." The comment caused Tracy to reach over and take Harry's hand into her own. She felt the weight of the war looming over here more than ever now. Harry and her friends had almost been taken from her and she hadn't even known. She never wanted them to leave her side again, but she knew it was inevitable that they would have to part ways again. Ron, Hermione, and Harry had to go off to find the horcruxes; it was the only way that all this madness would be brought to an end.

* * *

Danielle was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall so that she could have her entire room in her line of vision. She was playing her game boy, leveling up her pidgeot, but that didn't mean she wasn't completely alert and ready in case anything happened. She had to be now with all the death eaters going in and out every day. Draco had told her that nobody would try anything, but Danielle still refused to let her guard down. The death eaters were not completely obligated to follow Lucius' orders and Danielle wasn't about to put her faith in the protection that the Malfoy name supposedly gave her. Then, as if to test her vigilance, there was a sudden knock on her door. Danielle leaps off the bed, tossing the game behind her pillow with her left hand and yanking her wand off her desk with her right hand.

"Who's there?" Danielle demands as she walks forward, keeping her wand aimed at the door. It was still hours before dinner so she wasn't sure what to expect.

"Who do you think it is," Was the slightly annoyed reply; the door opened and the visitor swore in shock when he found a wand in his face.

"Draco!" Danielle gasps in relief. She lowers her wand and rests her head against the door frame for a second to give her heart a second to calm down. "I didn't know you were coming. Nobody told me that we were having dinner early. I'm not ready to go down."

"I'm not here to escort you anywhere," Draco explains. Danielle looked up and saw that the boy looked as tired as she felt. His voice turned quiet and unsure when he asks, "Can I come in?"

This was a surprising request. Draco had never actually come into her room before, but Danielle wasn't about to turn him down when he finally might be able to talk to her. "Yeah, come on" she says and moves out of the way to allow Draco by. He walks in and shuts the door before going over and plopping down in the desk chair. Danielle sits on the edge of her bed and looks at the boy curiously. He hadn't been allowed to see her or talk to her for more than a few minutes each day, so Danielle wasn't sure of what to make of this odd meeting. "What's going on?" She asks him hesitantly, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Draco sighs and rubs his face in his hands. He looked stressed. "I just wanted to tell you that I won't be here for dinner tonight. The house elf is going to bring your dinner up here."

Danielle didn't know whether to feel relieved that she didn't have to deal with the death eaters or annoyed that she wouldn't get to leave her room that day. Every evening that same creepy death eater, Fenrir Greyback, was always looking at her in the same creepy way. She wished the Malfoy's would stop letting him in. "Why won't you be here?" Danielle then asks even though she already had a hunch.

"They are going to do the ministry take over tonight. The dark lord wants me to go." Draco was trying to hide it, but Danielle saw the fear in his eyes. Anger at Dumbledore suddenly rose up inside her. She had trusted him to get Draco out of doing any other death eater activity for Voldemort. But the old man hadn't helped at all; he hadn't done a single thing. 'Maybe he tried to find a way to help, but couldn't.' The thought came out of nowhere, and suddenly Danielle was hearing the great man's voice in her head, "I'd have a hard time finding someone better for this job than you." That's what Dumbledore had told her. Could he possibly have been including himself in that statement? Had he meant that Danielle had a better chance of saving Draco than even he did? That was hard to believe since Dumbledore had been so powerful and smart, but Danielle was then remembering something Harry had said about Draco. "He's found something he values in Danielle." Was that why Draco was in her room right now? "He needs someone who can remind him that he has a choice," Tracy had told her. "He doesn't want to be a killer. You could help him remember that."

Danielle looked over at the boy that she was engaged to and studied him. He hadn't been obliged to come up here and inform her that he had the mission tonight. He could have just as easily sent Inky up to bring her dinner without letting her know anything about the mission at all. No, Draco was up here because he needed something from her. His parents expected him to obey Voldemort's every command without question, but Draco was clearly having reservations about doing that. He needed reassurance that it was okay for him to disagree with the values he'd been taught growing up; that it was okay for him to break away from the pureblooded traditions and be his own person. Danielle pushed herself off the bed then and moved in front of Draco. She grabbed his hand and pulled him up so he was standing too. Without giving herself time to change her mind, she reached up and pulled him into a hug. He instantly hugged her back tightly, and she could feel him trembling in her arms. Another overwhelming surge of anger pulsed through Danielle then. It was for Draco's parents this time though, and the other death eaters. They were such cowards; all of them. They didn't care who got hurt, or who suffered, as long as they were still alive. They'd never stick their necks out for anyone, not even their own children. It made Danielle sick.

"How long will you be gone?" Danielle asks after a few minutes. Draco shrugs after they pull apart and looks down at his feet. She wasn't sure what else to do or say to comfort him. She knew she should probably feel a little awkward after hugging someone whom she could hardly even call a friend, but her hatred for the death eaters kept her from feeling anything but rage. "Is there some way you can let me know when you get back?" She asks him.

"I can try," He mumbles. "It might be late though."

"I don't care," Danielle replies seriously. "I'll be up. I barely sleep now with the people who've been here."

"Me too," Draco says and looks at the door, "I should probably go before someone notices I came in here."

"Alright," Danielle sighs, wishing there was something else she could do for him. It made her nervous that he was so upset. The likelihood of him getting hurt, or worse, would increase if his ability to think clearly was being fogged over by his emotions. "Please be careful, and don't die."

Draco just nods at her silently before disappearing out the door and down the hall.

* * *

**What do you all think about Draco coming to Danielle for comfort and reassurance? I thought that was sort of a big step for him but I'd like to hear your guy's interpretations as well!**


	38. Part Two: Chapter Six

Part Two: Chapter Six

"Congratulations you two!" Tracy smiles as she shakes Bill Weasley and his new wife's hands.

"Thank you, Tracy! I'm glad you came!" Bill says with a grin almost identical to the one she'd seen on Ron's face countless times, "Harry's been telling everyone all about you! It's nice to finally meet you!"

Tracy blushes at the thought of Harry eagerly talking about her to anyone who would listen; he was so weird sometimes. She talked to Bill for a few moments more about his curse breaking job at Gringotts, and about how he'd been Head Boy during his last year at Hogwarts, before excusing herself so that the other guests could have their moment with the bride and groom. She also wanted to find Harry to see how he was holding up. The minister of magic had stopped by the burrow that morning, surprising everyone by informing them that Dumbledore had left Harry, Ron, and Hermione a few bequests in his will. One of the items that the great wizard had left Harry was the goblin made sword of Gryffindor. The minister had informed Harry that they could not give him the sword though since it belonged to Hogwarts, and was an important historical artifact. Harry had gotten extremely upset over this because he was sure that Dumbledore had left him the sword for a reason. He thought it might help him in his quest to find the horcruxes in some way.

"Ms. Ross! May I have a moment?" A thin scruffy looking man, whom Tracy didn't recognize, called out to her though before she could find Harry.

"Sure," Tracy shrugs and goes over to the man who holds out his hand.

"My name is Remus Lupin," He tells her. "I've just been talking to Mr. Weasley and he tells me you're planning on joining the order. I'm a member myself." Tracy's face lights up and she eagerly takes the offered hand into her own and gives it a shake. Harry had told her all about Lupin, and she had actually been really looking forward to meeting him.

"Yes, that's right" She grins, "You were the defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts during Harry's third year. Everyone I've talked to says you're brilliant." The older man laughs at this.

"It seems my reputation precedes me," He chuckles. "But, I've heard similar things about you. Professor McGonagall is a member of the order too you know. She says that you're extremely proficient in spell work; especially transfiguration." Tracy's face flushes at the praise. She had no idea that her teacher had even taken a notice to her, but apparently McGonagall was so impressed by her that she had even mentioned her name to other members of the order. It was odd for Tracy to have someone know her, not because of the things her brother had done, but because of her own skills.

"She really told you that?" Lupin smiles again and lets out a laugh.

"Yes," He confirms, "Which is why I've been pretty eager to meet you. I can't wait to see what all the hype is about." Tracy shakes her head in amusement, unaware that Lupin was about to get his first look at Tracy in action right now. There was a loud crack and all the wedding guests went silent. A dark skinned man in ministry robes had just apparated into the middle of the reception tent.

"Kingsley," Lupin instantly took on a look of worry as he addressed the new arrival. Tracy was certain that she'd heard Harry mention the name Kingsley as one of the members of the order before.

"The ministry has fallen," The man pants in a deep voice. "The minister is dead. The death eaters found out about the wedding. They're coming." Tracy's heart dropped into her stomach. Already? The death eaters and Voldemort had gained enough power to take over the ministry of magic already? Mr. Weasley's voice then broke through her thoughts.

"Everyone, just get back to your homes as quickly as possible" He shouts out to all the guests who were already disapperating away from the wedding left and right. The members of the order were starting to station themselves around the tent; ready for action. Tracy pulled out her wand as the thought of Harry popped back into her head. She knew at once that her friends would need to leave as soon as possible as well. Harry was too important to take part in whatever was about to happen. He, Hermione, and Ron would probably be starting their search for the horcruxes tonight. Tracy pushed through the mess of people, hoping to at least get one last good-bye. The death eaters started arriving then; wearing their trademark black hooded robes.

"Tracy!" A hand shot out and grabbed onto the girls sleeve.

"Hermione!" Tracy sighs in relief when she sees that her friends hadn't left yet, "Where's Harry?"

"THERE!" Ron points as he runs up as well. The three duck through the crowd of guests and death eaters until they had reached Harry who had been frantically searching for them as well.

"We've got to go, now!" Hermione pants before ducking to avoid a spell that had just been sent their way.

Harry hugs Tracy and kisses her once quickly, "Be safe! I love you!"

"Same to you!" Tracy says and before she can blink, they dissapparate. There was no time for her to think about where they could have gone, or how long it would be until she saw them again though because there was a battle going around her. She turns around, pulls out her wand, and jumps into action.

"STUPIFY!" She yells blasting back the first death eater she sees before running off toward where she saw Mrs. Weasley trying to protect her daughter, Ginny, who was still too young to use magic outside of school. Suddenly someone grabs her from behind though. Tracy tries to elbow whoever it was in the ribs, but she wasn't strong enough to cause any damage.

"CONJUNCTIVIS!" she hears someone shout, and the death eater who had been holding her immediately lets go to scratch at their eyes which had turned pink and swollen. Tracy turns around to see Remus Lupin give her a nod.

"Thanks!" Tracy smiles gratefully to him before running off towards another death eater, "Petrificus Totalus!" The hooded figure she was aiming at goes stiff as a board and falls over onto the ground. Three other death eaters saw what she had done though, and turned to avenge their stunned comrade. Tracy quickly aims her wand on one of the folding tables. "Reducto!" The table flies back and smashes into all three of her attackers.

"Jeez Ross," she hears someone mumble behind her then. Tracy whips around and sees the face of Draco Malfoy under a death eater hood. Even though she'd known that Draco had the dark mark, it surprised her to find herself up against a classmate in battle.

"Malfoy?" Tracy gasps and points the wand straight at his face. "Where's Danielle?"

"Back at the manor," He says with a straight face. Tracy wasn't sure how much she could trust this guy. It was hard to tell if he was here willingly, or if he'd been forced by Voldemort. He had his wand in his hand, but it didn't really look like he was planning on using it. If he had wanted to curse her he would have already done it.

"Is she ok?" Tracy asks before her eyes quickly dart to the right and she flings a stinking hex over Draco's shoulder at a death eater who had been sneaking up behind Fred Weasley.

"Yes." Draco says quickly looking shocked at Tracy's quick spell work.

"Thanks doll!" Fred winks over at Tracy but frowns when he notices the death eater standing in front of her. He raises his wand to send a hex at Draco but Tracy reacts faster. She flicks her wand, and a plate from one of the tables zooms between Fred and Draco, blocking the spell. Tracy quickly shoves Draco away from her then so that he would leave before someone else tried to throw a curse at him. "Don't you dare let anything happen to her," Tracy hisses at him before running off toward Mr. Weasley who was fighting off two death eaters at once.

An hour later, and all the death eaters had been chased off the Weasley's property. Everyone that hadn't left the wedding made their way inside now so that they could rest and take care of their wounds. Thankfully, nobody had been hurt too severely, and nobody had died. Tracy walked into the burrow's living room and collapsed on the couch in between Fred and George.

"Where's Ron?!" Mrs. Weasley shouts suddenly, "Hermione? Harry? Has anybody seen them?"

"They're gone Molly," Lupin says and takes the woman's hand. "They left as soon as the death eaters came. You know they had orders from Dumbledore."

Mrs. Weasley instantly breaks down into tears and her husband rushes to console her. Tracy feels a bout of sadness start to creep in on her as well. Harry was gone, and he was going to remain that way until he had found the remaining five horcruxes that Dumbledore hadn't managed to destroy before he died. Nobody, not a single person, would be able to contact or find Ron, Hermione, or Harry while they were gone. It terrified Tracy to think that something could happen to her friends and nobody would know about it. It made Tracy miss Danielle even more. She needed her best friend. But at least Tracy knew that Danielle was okay now, at least according to Draco she was.

"It's kind of strange that the ministry fell on the same night as Bill's wedding," Fred points out then and George grins.

"Yes," He agrees, "It's pretty EAR-Y!" The goofy twin then points to where his ear had been hit with Snape's curse and Fred bursts out laughing. Tracy can't help but laugh along. The Weasley twins could make anything humorous. She was glad to have them around to cheer her up.

"Thanks for the heads up, by the way, Kingsley" Mr. Weasley looks over at his ministry co-worker and fellow order member. "You bought us a few precious moments to prepare."

"Don't mention it, Arthur, it was nothing" Kingsley nods his head before sighing. "I suppose this means we're out of a job now." That's when Tracy was hit with the full magnitude of what had happened. The death eaters had taken over the ministry of magic. The man that governed their world was now dead, and Voldemort had essentially taken his place.

"What happens now?" She blurts out. "What does this mean for the wizarding community and all the muggles here in England?"

"The Death Eaters have got the full might of the Ministry on their side now. They've got the power to perform brutal spells without fear of identification or arrest," Lupin explains to her grimly. "They no longer need to hide or keep a low profile. Things are about to get very ugly for everyone."

* * *

**So, what did you think of the battle? And Lupin? Yay? lol Ok, review!**


	39. Part Two: Chapter Seven

Part Two: Chapter Seven

As the hours ticked by, it became harder and harder to wait for news of what had happened at the ministry of magic. Danielle could not relax. She paced back and forth in her room, sending nervous glances over at her door every so often.

For the sake of the wizarding word, she hoped that the death eaters would fail to take over the ministry. After all, the ministry was the thing that maintained order and safety for all the witches and wizards in England. Of course, Danielle knew that the ministry now wasn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but she knew it was a heck of a lot better than being ruled over by Lord Voldemort.

On the other hand though, Danielle was worried that if the death eaters failed, Draco would be arrested, and either sent to Azkaban or executed. The thought of this made Danielle sick, especially with how scared and unhappy the boy had been about going in the first place. He didn't deserve that. And what if something did happen to Draco? Where would that leave Danielle? Would the Malfoys let her leave? Or would they make her stay, and torture her for information about Harry and the order? Hopefully they wouldn't kill her just because she no longer was of use to them.

Danielle wondered if the order of the phoenix would step in and help once they found out what was happening at the ministry. This was another troubling thought. Not only would this put Draco in even more danger, but it would put her teachers from Hogwarts and her friend's families in danger too. Danielle knew that Ron's whole family was practically in the order. Hopefully they were all right. And there was also Tracy to think about. Danielle knew that her best friend had been eager to join the order. Had she already? And if she had, was she fighting in the ministry right now?

A tap on the door pulled Danielle from her thoughts. She turned toward the noise and held up her wand. "Draco?" She asks cautiously.

"Yes, it's me," She heard Draco's voice. "May I come in?" Relief that the boy was alright washed over Danielle as she told him he could enter. When the door opened, she rushed over to look at him. He looked exhausted, but completely unharmed. She lets out a sigh and throws her arms around him for the second time that day. This time she didn't do it for him; she did it for herself. Thankfully, he hugged her back and didn't push her away or anything. That would have been awkward.

"So, what happened?" Danielle asks after they pull apart. Draco didn't answer right away. He only moved inside the room and shut the door before going and sitting by the desk that he had occupied earlier. Danielle quickly moved to take her spot on the edge of her bed closest to Draco.

"Taking over the ministry was easy," Draco says and looks down at the plate of uneaten food sitting on the desk and frowns, "is this your dinner?"

"Yeah, but what happened?" Danielle says impatiently. She didn't care about the dinner that Inky had brought her. She had been too worried to eat before, and now she just wanted to know everything about what she had missed. The ministry of magic had fallen to the death eaters, which was going to have huge implications on everyone.

"It was quick," Draco continues, "the dark lord already had a lot of people on the inside. The head of magical law enforcement, Pius Thicknesse, along with a handful of others, have been under the imperious curse for months now. Tonight, Thicknesse was forced to kill the minister before appointing himself the successor. Thankfully I didn't have to do much. There was basically no resistance." Danielle felt her stomach twist at what Draco was explaining to her. Voldemort wasn't calling the title of minister of magic for himself. He was going to work through someone else, Pius Thicknesse, whom the public knew and trusted, by controlling his every action using the imperious curse. This was even worse than Danielle had thought. People might not even realize that the ministry had fallen for a while with the way Voldemort had executed his plan. He had complete control and nobody knew.

"Well, if it was so easy, why did it take you so long to get back?" Danielle asks with a frown.

"While we were at the ministry, we heard a rumor that there was a wedding being held at the Weasley's home," Draco says hesitantly and Danielle feels her stomach turn again. She hadn't known that someone in the Weasley family was getting married, but she felt bad for whichever one it was. "Almost all of them and most of their friends are in the order. So, after we took over the ministry, the dark lord ordered us to go there, take out as many order members as possible, and then bring Potter back to him."

"No…" Danielle looked away and covered her mouth as she thought of everyone who would have been at that wedding; all her Gryffindor friends including fifteen year old Ginny. "How bad was it?"

"Nobody from either side was killed," Draco says with a shrug, "It seems the wedding hadn't put them off guard at all. They were all prepared to fight us as soon as we arrived! Someone must have tipped them off. We didn't stay long though. Potter wasn't even there, which was all the dark lord really cared about anyway."

"Harry wasn't there?" Danielle asks leaning forward, "What about Ron and Hermione?"

"Nope, I didn't see them either. But, Ross was there. I didn't know she was that close to the Weasleys. Is she staying with them right now?" He asks before letting out a small laugh at Danielle's shocked face. "I guess you didn't know she was back in England either. You shouldn't worry about her though. The girl's crazy. She had a wand in my face before I could blink. I thought for sure she would hex me. I'm not sure why she didn't, to be honest."

"She knows that I took you to Dumbledore," Danielle lets out a sigh. "She knows about everything with the cabinet too." Draco's face turned angry in an instant.

"You told me that you wouldn't tell anyone!" He looked outraged, "You lied to me."

"No I didn't," Danielle shushes him harshly. "Harry saw you on the Astronomy tower that night. He was there, but you didn't see him. He heard you and Dumbledore talking." This took the blonde boy by surprise.

"But that doesn't explain why Ross let me off the hook," Draco lowers his voice. "Even if she knew that you had taken me to Dumbledore, Potter would have seen that I was going to kill him anyway."

"Harry saw you lowering your wand," Danielle smiles a little.

"I was a coward," Draco looks down at his hands.

"No, you just knew it wasn't right" Danielle replies fiercely, "And there is nothing cowardly about doing the right thing. I was quite proud of you when I found out." Draco looked shocked by her admission, and for a moment didn't seem to know what to say. He recovered after a few seconds though.

"Well my father wasn't proud of me at all," He says bitterly. "Letting Dumbledore live caused my father to make my life a living hell for a while."

"Letting you live wasn't exactly a walk in the park for me either," Danielle says, not unkindly. "But I don't regret my decision to do it at all." Draco looked down again, apparently unsure about how to respond to that comment. "Do your parent's know that you're with me right now?" Danielle asks as she remembers that the dark lord, and all his death eaters were still downstairs regrouping after their mission.

"I don't know but they won't care. They are all too preoccupied with all the ministry business. I'm just glad to be home." Draco lets out a laugh before eyeing Danielle cautiously, "I never thought you'd ever greet me so enthusiastically."

Danielle looks away now and tries not to feel embarrassed again, "I just… anything could have happened tonight. If something happens to you then being here will be a complete waste. I'd be completely alone."

"You don't have to get defensive about it," Draco frowns, "I'm glad to finally have someone around who actually cares. If you weren't here, I'd be completely alone too."

That was probably the most open Draco had ever been with Danielle. She didn't dare acknowledge it though. She had only really hugged Draco out of relief from learning he was still alive, but if it had also provided him some comfort than that was okay. She wanted Draco to open up to her. She wanted to be able to have at least one person she could trust in this place.

"You did tell Dumbledore, right?" Danielle then asks hesitantly, "About having to kill him." She didn't want the boy to start yelling at her again for asking questions. He didn't yell though, he only nodded his head.

"I told him everything that the dark lord asked me to do," Draco explains. "He told me that whatever happened, I was to complete my mission with the cabinet. That's why I lied to you about testing it one more time. I didn't want you to try and stop me."

"I guess that makes sense," Danielle grudgingly admits. "Even if Dumbledore had told you to let the death eaters in, I still wouldn't have wanted you to do it. Sorry I yelled at you that night." Draco just shrugs.

"Dumbledore also said that I wouldn't have to worry about killing him either," He goes on after a second. "He said he'd do everything he could to keep me from having to... commit murder." This comment caused Danielle to remember Snape, her old potions professor. Dumbledore's promise was that Draco wouldn't be a murderer, not that he would try to prevent his death. That was odd.

"Do you think he knew that Snape was a death eater?" Danielle suggests, "And that he would do the job for you when the time was right?"

"Why wouldn't Dumbledore just try and save himself even if he did know that Snape was a death eater?" Draco asks seriously. "I doubt he's that good of a person to die so that I wouldn't have to be a killer. He was more important than me. I mean, why would he value my life more than his own? He probably had the best chance of winning the war for his side. I'm just a death eater's son."

"I don't know," Danielle shrugs feeling a little annoyed at Draco's sudden low self esteem. "Did you know that Snape was a death eater?"

"I didn't know for sure until he showed up on the astronomy tower," Draco explains. "But I've always sort of suspected it. He's been coming over here every so often to visit and talk with my father ever since I can remember. "

"That's weird," Danielle says and Draco lets out a little laugh.

"Understatement," He mutters. The conversation between the two continued well into the early hours of morning. Neither was going to be able to sleep that night anyway even if they tried. It was nice for Danielle to finally be able to talk to _SOMEONE_. She only hoped that this wasn't just a onetime thing.


	40. Part Two: Chapter Eight

Part Two: Chapter Eight

"You're not going to believe this," Ginny Weasley walks into the kitchen and slams the day's copy of the daily prophet down in front of Tracy who jumps at the abruptness. After spending more time around the red headed girl, Tracy had started to form more of a friendship with her. Before, she had always hung out with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. But now that the trio was gone, she and Ginny had naturally gravitated toward each other for company. Ginny had a quick temper, like her brother Ron, but she was much more fierce and intimidating. She also lacked the sense of humor that all of her older brothers seemed to possess.

"Oh my gosh," Tracy gasps as she holds up the paper. On the front page was a huge picture of Harry's face. Along the top were the words 'Undesirable Number One' in big black bold letters. "Why?"

"The ministry, or Voldemort rather, is trying to turn the public against him," Ginny states as she plops down into the chair across from her new friend. "They're trying to say that he was involved in Dumbledore's death. And since they can't find him, they're saying that he's avoiding questioning. They've even put out a reward for anyone who has any information." Tracy looks to the bottom of the page where she sees 'Reward: 10,000 Gallons' written underneath Harry's picture. She throws down the paper.

"Nobody is going to believe this," She snaps, feeling just as annoyed and angry as Ginny did now.

"Unfortunately, many people already do" Lupin comes strolling into the kitchen then to join them. Many of the order members were staying at the burrow on and off now that the death eaters had the right to come to their homes and question them about Harry. Even the Weasleys were working on finding a new place to stay. It was only a matter of time before the death eaters would be back, and who knows what they would do in order to get the information they desired.

"What do you mean?" Tracy asks fearfully. She didn't want anybody thinking that Harry had any part in Dumbledore's death. That would be horrible.

"People will believe even the craziest things out of fear," Lupin sighs sadly before opening up the prophet to the inside page and pointing to another article for Tracy to look at.

"What?" Ginny scowls at the face of Severus Snape who was scowling right back off the page at her.

"They're making Snape the new headmaster at Hogwarts?" Tracy turned to Lupin in shock, "This must be a joke!"

"It's true," Lupin tells the girls. "Nobody but a few death eaters and Harry were on the astronomy tower to witness Dumbledore's death; which means that nobody knows that it was Snape who actually killed him. Most people don't even know that the minister is dead yet, and that the government and the daily prophet are being run by Voldemort."

"I guess Hermione was right after all," Tracy sighs sadly. "She told me before that the death eaters might be running Hogwarts if the ministry fell. But what does this mean for the school Lupin? Is there any point in even going back? I don't think there's much I'd care to learn from a death eater."

"You don't have much choice, I'm afraid" Lupin tells her sympathetically. "Snape will be expecting everyone to return. And I can guarantee that Voldemort will be sending death eaters out to find anybody who goes missing; student or otherwise. He'll want to round up anyone who is not conforming to the new way of things."

"Is that why my dad had to go back to work even though the ministry fell?" Ginny asks Lupin curiously. The man nods.

"Yes, anyone who resists the changes that are being made will be targeted," Lupin explains. "Your father already has to be careful. You family is well known for being avid Harry supporters and your parents fought against Voldemort in the first wizarding war. All you Weasleys need to be careful now."

"I suppose Hogwarts won't be that bad anyway, right?" Tracy asks hopefully. "McGonagall and the other teachers will still be there."

"And we'll have the DA!" Ginny suddenly brightens.

"The DA?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Dumbledore's army!" Ginny explains, "Back in my fourth year, Harry's fifth, when that ministry woman was running the school instead of Dumbledore. We weren't learning anything useful. So, Harry started teaching a group of students in secret; all defense against the dark arts stuff. We called ourselves Dumbledore's Army."

"That was the year Harry fought the death eaters at the ministry right?" Tracy asks wondering why she hadn't heard about Dumbledore's army before.

"Yes! I was there too! A handful of us were!" Ginny replies enthusiastically. That was shocking. Tracy had thought only Harry, Ron, and Hermione had snuck out of the school to go stop Voldemort from stealing the prophecy out of the department of mysteries.

"How many people were in this DA thing?" Tracy questions, and starts to feel excited about this whole secret student army idea.

"A bunch!" Ginny answers happily, "And not just Gryffindors. We had Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs too!" Tracy was impressed that Harry could bring that much unity between three of the four Hogwarts houses. He really was an incredible wizard. He never stopped surprising her.

"Girls," Lupin cuts back in now looking stern. "I don't want you two going and starting trouble on purpose."

"We won't," Tracy says even though the look on Ginny's face told a different story. "But it wouldn't hurt to have a few people looking out for each other would it; just to know that we have each other's backs if anything did happen?"

"I suppose not," Lupin agrees before looking to Ginny. "But under no circumstance should you guys go out of your way to confront the death eaters. And, I'd be careful about mentioning anything about the DA to your mother as well. She's already upset about having to send you both back. And she has enough to worry about already without you all doing anything foolish."

"We understand," Tracy promises. And she did understand. It would be hard to sit back and allow the death eaters to run the school that she had come to love so much, but she knew it was important not to cause unnecessary trouble. This wasn't like the time that the DA fought the death eaters before. Voldemort hadn't been in control of the ministry then. Now, he made the rules.

* * *

"Why don't you take a nap or something? You look terrible." Draco tells Danielle as he walks into her room and sits in her desk chair. Ever since his ministry mission, Draco had started to come and visit Danielle in her room when he wasn't doing anything for the dark lord. Apparently his mother had finally decided that it was okay. Danielle appreciated his company though. It really sucked to be stuck in the same room all alone every single day.

"Gee Thanks," Danielle glares at him before lying back on her bed. "You know I hardly sleep. I'm afraid to even shut my eyes for a second with you-know-who and all his death eaters around here. And when you're all gone I can't sleep because I'm worried. I'm worried about you and whatever news you'll bring back."

"Well why don't you try to sleep right now? I'm here, in case anybody did try to get in." Draco suggests. Danielle turns to look at the boy for a moment without saying anything. It was a kind gesture, but Danielle was still wary of her fiancé. She believed whole heartily that he wasn't as horrible as he had seemed when she first met him, but Danielle knew that Draco's personality still caused all his actions to be self serving. Draco might not hate her anymore, but if it came down to it, he'd put his own life before her own. Danielle didn't blame him for this, but she knew she had to keep that in the back of her mind.

"The point of you being in here isn't to be a look out so I can rest," Danielle tells him finally. "I'm sure you have better things to do than watch me sleep."

"Not really," Draco admits with a small laugh.

"I don't believe it for a second," Danielle tests him. "I'm sure you could be having loads of fun torturing the house elves, or finding someone lower on the totem pole to exert your power over." Draco cocks an eyebrow at her.

"Very funny," He states before smirking. "I think I'd much rather spend time with you though."

To Draco, it was harmless teasing. But to Danielle, his statement had been profound. Having this boy in her room, talking to her in this way was turning out to be a double edge sword. She was glad to finally have some company, of course, but it scared Danielle that Draco had opened up to her so quickly. Since she had proved to him that he could trust her to be comforting and understanding to his situation, their relationship had started to change. He had discovered that he didn't have to put on a brave face and pretend around Danielle because she wouldn't get angry or judge him like everyone else in his life. Because of this, he was starting to get extremely comfortable around her. And this is why Danielle was afraid. Was Draco so starved of compassion that all she needed to do was give him a couple hugs and tell him that she preferred if he didn't die just to have him seeking out her company above anyone else's? She had only made the commitment to help Draco because she had realized that he was just a victim of his own environment. His parents expected him to be something that he didn't want to be. But to renounce their wishes was to face being disowned and now killed because of the mark on his arm. Danielle was only supposed to be there to help him find his identity, and get him through the war alive. But the way that Draco spoke so openly with her, and laughed and joked with her, told her that there was a lot more going on than just that. He had told her the night of the ministry takeover that he was glad to finally have someone around that actually cared. And Danielle did care, but she was certain that Draco was forgetting who she actually was. Right now, he was seeing her as the only person he had ever been able to be himself around without fear. He was forgetting that she was also the girl whose parents had divorced, which was a disgraceful and condemning thing in the wizarding world. And he was forgetting that she was friends with his least favorite person in the world, Harry Potter, and Hermione, one of the muggleborns that he detested and hated.

Once this war was all over, would all of that information come rushing back to Draco? Would he go back to insulting her and belittling her? Or would he cling to her since she had been a thing of comfort to him when he was struggling? Would he try to control her and keep her from returning back to being the person that he had once despised? Both outcomes weren't that inviting. The engagement ring was still on her finger and she still wanted it off. She was afraid of letting Draco get too close, yet she had made it her job not to push him away. Danielle was getting herself into a very sticky situation.

"What is this?" Draco then asks curiously. While Danielle had zoned out he had discovered her game boy that had been sticking out from under her pillow.

"Nothing," Danielle says feeling suddenly panicked. She quickly moved to take it away from him. She wasn't sure how he would react if he found out it was a muggle invention.

"What's it do?" He asks and holds it out of Danielle's reach. She was too lazy to get off her bed and take it from him though so she gave up. Draco probably wouldn't just drop it either. He was too nosey.

"It's a game. Well, you put games in it." Danielle wasn't sure how to describe it. There wasn't anything in the wizarding world that she could think of to compare it to. Draco flipped it around in his hands a few times before he figured out how to open it. He was running his hands over the screen and buttons so intently that Danielle wanted to laugh. "Push up that black switch on the right side."

"Whoa!" Draco's eyes widen as the screen on the game boy lights up. Danielle can't help but feel amused by his reaction. He gets up and comes over to sit next to her so that Danielle could show him how to use the foreign object. Danielle wasn't sure if doing this was a very good idea though.

"What do I do now?" Draco says as he holds the game out in front of her. He looked genuinely interested in learning.

"Look… this is a muggle device so…" Danielle nervously tries to take the game boy out of his hands.

"So what? That means I'm not allowed to touch it?" Draco challenges as he holds the game away from her again.

"I didn't think you'd want to," Danielle finally concedes, and reaches over to touch the part of the screen that would start the game.

"You have it so you must like it," Draco says but doesn't tear his eyes away from the screen as a huge dragon flies across it.

"Doesn't mean that you will," Danielle argues and presses the screen again to start a new game. She didn't want him to mess hers up. Draco turns his head to look at Danielle and raises his eyebrows.

"Look, you're my fiancée. We can't keep secrets like this from each other." He points down to the game boy and tries to conceal his grin. "How will we possibly last if our marriage is based on lies?" Danielle knew he was just trying to annoy her and found it amusing. She laughed; there was a lot more than a game boy shoved under her pillow to indicate that a marriage between her and Draco would be a disaster.

"I really get to name it?" Draco asks once Danielle had explained all of the controls to him. He had chosen the water Pokemon as his starter.

"Yeah, you can name it whatever you'd like." Danielle laughed as Draco made a face as he thought hard.

"I named it 'Draco's slave'," He says proudly after a moment of poking at the screen with the stylus and Danielle smacks herself in the forehead. After several more minutes of Danielle arguing with Draco about what he was supposed to do, he finally got to do a battle.

"Did you see that? I killed that pathetic worthless bird! I told you that this pokey thing was the strongest!" Draco was laughing evilly as he moved his character around in the grass looking for something else to battle. Danielle didn't have the heart to tell him that defeating a level two Pidgey wasn't really something to brag about.

"AHH!" Draco yelled suddenly and dropped the game to the floor. Danielle was about to yell at him for being a sore loser and for throwing her game around but noticed that he was clutching his left arm.

"He's summoning you again?" Danielle asks in concern. Whenever the dark lord needed his death eaters, their dark marks would begin to burn them painfully.

"Yeah. Gotta go." Draco says urgently and runs from the room without a second look.

Danielle frowns as she leans over to pick her game off the floor. She saves his game and tucks the device back under her pillow. She knew that Draco had to leave immediately if his dark mark burned. If he didn't, he could be punished; brutally. The thought scared Danielle; as did the thought of him going off on more death eater missions. Sometimes when he was called away, he'd be gone for days. Danielle would be left locked up in her room, waiting to find out if he was okay or not. It was miserable.

* * *

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What do you think about poor Harry being targeted by the ministry? And what do you think about Draco being sent on dangerous errands with the other death eaters? Do you think Danielle is right to be concerned about how much Draco is loosening up around her? I think it's interesting that all she had to do was show some concern for his well being and comfort him in his moment of fear to earn his trust. I guess that just goes to show what he's put up with, and what he's been denied while growing up as a member of the Malfoy family.  
**


	41. Part Two: Chapter Nine

Part Two: Chapter Nine

"Oh… oh my god," Tracy curls her lip in complete disgust as she reads through an article posted in the daily prophet. She begins to read out loud to the others in the room, "'Recent research undertaken by the Department of Mysteries reveals that magic can only be passed from person to person when wizards reproduce. Where no proven wizarding ancestry exists, therefore, the so-called Muggleborn is likely to have obtained magical power by theft or force. The Ministry is determined to root out such usurpers of magical power, and to this end has issued an invitation to every so-called Muggleborn to present themselves for interview by the newly appointed Muggleborn Registration Commission.' This is complete nonsense!"

"You can't steal magic from someone" Ginny looks outraged. "How can the ministry do this?"

"They are the law," Kingsley sighs in his deep voice. "They can do whatever they wish."

"But what will happen to all the muggleborns then?" Tracy asks even though she was a bit afraid of the answer.

"The smart ones will run," Lupin speaks up then, "They'll go into hiding."

"And the rest?" Tracy presses and Lupin just looks at her sadly. "But that's outrageous! Muggleborns make up a huge percentage of the wizarding population. Even you-know-who must realize that without them magic might even die out! There are only so many purebloods and halfbloods!"

"He doesn't think like that Tracy," Kingsley tells her with a frown. "He only cares about purifying the world and destroying everyone who stands in his way."

"That's why he's put the taboo spell on his name," Lupin explains. "He knows that the people who are brave enough to speak his name are the ones that will cause him the most trouble. He now has the ability to track those people down in an instant."

"Well that's stupid," Ginny crosses her arms. "We figured his stupid trick out right away!"

"Yes, but the message was clear, wasn't it?" Tracy asks bitterly, "He has power over us. Even by taking that one little thing away. And besides, it probably isn't the order that he's most concerned about. Harry has never been afraid of saying you-know-who's name."

"I forgot about that!" Ginny covers her mouth in panic, "He doesn't know! What if they've caught him already?"

"It's okay Ginny," Lupin pats the girl on the leg, "If they had caught up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione I'm sure we would have heard something about it."

"Of course," Tracy clings to Lupin's words for hope, "And Hermione is brilliant. They'll figure it out."

"Right," Ginny seems to take comfort in that. Tracy's is still overcome with worry though. Harry, Ron, and Hermione wouldn't have been able to hear about the taboo spell on Voldemort's name. The only way they would be able to figure it out would be to say his name and be caught doing so. Tracy really hoped that didn't happen. She hoped they were all safe and well hidden. With Harry being undesirable number one, and Hermione being a muggleborn, it would be very bad news if they were captured.

"So, what is the order doing now?" Tracy asks to keep her mind from thinking about the horrible things that could happen to her friends if they were caught. "What are you all doing?"

"Well, now we're doing everything we can to protect as many muggleborn families as possible," Kingsley nods his head, "especially the ones with children. They certainly can't go back to Hogwarts this year." Tracy's stomach turned at the thought of the muggleborns that she knew from school. She didn't want them getting wisped away to the ministry by the death eaters. "We're also trying to figure out ways in which to broadcast the truth about what is going on to the public. Everyone is so scared and confused right now, that they don't know what to think. The only information they are getting right now is coming from the ministry," Kingsley continues, "it is difficult though. We need to find a way to do this so that the death eaters can't interfere or find us. Fred and George have some interesting ideas cooking though, so it shouldn't be too long."

"And of course, there are some of us that are out recruiting," Lupin adds on looking tired. "I've personally been going out and finding werewolf communities to try and convince them to join the cause."

"How has that been going?" Tracy asks feeling bad for Lupin. She knew that he was a werewolf and that the condition took a huge toll on him and his body. He preferred not to have to make the change each month, and often took a wolfsbane potion to avoid it. It was difficult to get the ingredients now though, and the potion was extremely difficult to make. It had been Snape who brewed the stuff for Lupin before he turned on the order and fled with the death eaters.

"Not very well," Lupin admits, "It seems Fenrir Greyback has already been talking to them. He's a werewolf too, and a death eater. He's the one that infected me actually. I'm glad that I haven't run into him personally. He's very dangerous. He's embraced his condition so fully that I hardly think one can consider him more human than wolf now." Tracy shudders at the thought of such a horrible sounding beast of a man.

"I wish there was more I could do," she sighs. "I feel like I've just been sitting around."

"You know that isn't true," Kingsley looks at the girl affectionately. "You've learned a lot from the other order members since you've been here. And trust me, you'll have to put it to use at some point, unfortunately."

Tracy knew that Kingsley was right, but she was eager to do something useful. Harry and the others were off hunting horcruxes and the older members of the order all had jobs as well. Sitting around at the burrow was making Tracy feel anxious. Muggleborns all over England were about to be herded into the ministry to be interviewed and she had a feeling they weren't going to be let off easy. These people were not the abominations that the ministry was making them out to be. They were hard working, kind, and intelligent people and Tracy wished that there was a way that she could help them.

* * *

"We've been through almost every house belonging to all known members of the order of the phoenix," A death eater named Yaxley slams his fist on the dining table at Malfoy Manor. Danielle knew that he was the new head of magical law enforcement at the ministry under Voldemort's new regime. She hoped that everyone in the order was safe after being targeted so openly by the death eaters, especially Tracy. "There has been no trace of Potter anywhere!"

"We haven't searched the Weasley's," Mr. Nott looks up at Lucius accusingly. "Why haven't we gone in and done something about those rodents yet? We all know they have strong connections with the boy."

"Because, Nott" Lucius says irritably, "The Weasleys may be filthy blood traitors, but they aren't stupid. Potter is no good to them dead, they wouldn't keep him somewhere so obvious. They know that we're looking for him."

"But the dark lord is getting impatient Lucius," Nott argues back with a hiss.

"Yeah, he wants Potter dead," another death eater named Goyle mumbles. Danielle frowns; this was yet another one of her Slytherin classmate's fathers. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her father as a death eater. The thought was very disturbing.

"But, he also wants to keep the public calm," Lucius tries to explain. "If we just go in and start blowing up those red headed idiots, people will start to realize what is actually happening here."

"Let them figure it out!" The crazy haired Bellatrix shouts, "We'll just kill anybody that tries to stop us."

"I agree," The creepy werewolf, Greyback, speaks up now with a yellow toothed grin. "Let's take care of the blood traitors once and for all! With a little _persuasion_, we might even be able to get them to spill the beans about Potter's whereabouts." Danielle grimaces at the way he had said 'persuasion' and looks to Draco who was sitting next to her trying very hard to avoid having to join the conversation. She hoped that these terrible people wouldn't do anything to hurt the Weasleys. And she especially hoped that Fenrir Greyback would stay far away from them. He'd probably love to get his disgusting paws all over Ginny.

"The dark lord does not wish to create a panic! It'll be easier to work with the public instead of against them" Lucius states sternly now, "We're trying to convert their thoughts so that they are in line with ours. That is why the ministry take over was orchestrated in the way that it was. That is why our lord has not revealed himself as the real controller of the ministry."

"Then how do you suggest we find that boy, Lucius!" Bellatrix snaps causing Danielle to flinch in her seat, "We don't know how much of a danger he is to the dark lord because YOU had to go and drop the prophecy! He needs to be dealt with before he causes a problem!" A murmur of agreement passes between the death eaters then and Lucius' face tenses with guilt and worry. Danielle had no idea what this prophecy was, but she was pretty sure that it had something to do with why Voldemort was so upset with the Malfoys. It was strange though, that Voldemort seemed to be so concerned with finding Harry. It was almost comical to think that the world's most powerful dark wizard might be afraid of a 17 year old boy. It wasn't very funny for Harry though. Danielle couldn't imagine having her death as Voldemort and his army of death eater's main objective.

"The ministry will be passing the law making attendance at Hogwarts mandatory in just a few days," Lucius sighs as he looks around the table. "Potter will have to come out of hiding then. And if he doesn't, that will be the time in which we can take more aggressive actions in our search."

"I hate waiting!" Bellatrix shrieks again, "Let's just kill everyone he knows and cares for until he turns himself in!" Danielle forces herself to look down at her plate so that nobody would see her disgust and fear. Tracy fell into the category of people that Harry knew and cared for. Would the death eaters know this? Would they try to find and kill her? Abby had become pretty good friends with harry; would they target her as well? Danielle wished, once again, that there was some way for her to send all of this information out to the order.

"Settle down Bellatrix," Yaxley frowns at the mad woman. "Like Lucius said, that would be too obvious. It'll be a lot easier to deal with Potter once everyone sees him as a criminal rather than a hero. I just wish we could speed up the process a little bit!"

"We're doing everything we can," Lucius reminds them all. "We just have to let everything play out."

Danielle was relieved when dinner was finally over. She hated listening to these death eaters plan death and destruction day in and day out. It would only be a matter of time before one of them made a comment that would push her over the edge; she knew. She brought her wand down to dinner with her every evening, and she was not afraid to use it. She knew which death eaters she would make sure to take out before they killed her in retaliation. Bellatrix Lestrange would be her first target. The woman was ruthless and had no qualms about doing whatever it took to please Voldemort; whether it be torturing people in the worst ways for information, or killing innocent people and their loved ones to make a point. Danielle would definitely be sure to erase this woman from the world. Her second target would be, of course, Fenrir Greyback. Nobody whose main goal was to prey on children and infect them with lycanthropy to raise a werewolf army should be allowed to remain alive, in Danielle's opinion. Who knows how many people would be spared just by taking out those two. Danielle thought that her life might just be worth it.

"You're being very quiet," Draco breaks the silence as they walk back to her room.

"Tell me about the prophecy," Danielle states. There was no point in telling Draco how much she hated and wanted to kill the death eaters; he already knew.

"I …" Draco hesitates and sends a look over his shoulder before looking back at Danielle. She just narrows her eyes at him. "Ok, but I don't know that much about it really," He says. "There was a prophecy made a long time ago by some seer. The prophecy mentioned both Potter and the dark lord, apparently. The dark lord didn't know what the prophecy said, but decided to kill Potter once he was born so that he could never grow up and become a threat to him."

"Well, obviously that failed," Danielle lets out a dark laugh. "Harry lived that night and you-know-who was destroyed… well, temporarily."

"Right, but that just made the dark lord even more nervous" Draco explains, "Every prophecy that has ever been made has been documented and stored at the ministry of magic, in the department of mysteries. The dark lord sent the death eaters there a year ago to retrieve the prophecy, but as you know, Potter had to intervene. In the commotion, my father dropped the prophecy and accidently destroyed it." Danielle frowned. That would explain why Voldemort was so angry with Lucius. That prophecy might have contained information about how to kill Harry, or how Voldemort might protect himself from being killed.

"So, now there is no way to know what the prophecy said?" Danielle asks. She was glad that Voldemort had never gotten his hands on the thing, but the information in the prophecy might be extremely helpful to Harry.

"We don't know," Draco shrugs as they finally make it to Danielle's room. "I just know that if we don't find Potter soon, the dark lord is going to take it out on us." By 'us', Danielle knew that Draco meant the Malfoys. But she wasn't sure if she was included on that list. If she was, she would surely be one of the first things that Voldemort would go after if he were to get upset with Draco's family. Danielle was not a death eater so she wasn't of any use to Voldemort's cause, but she was worth something to the Malfoys which meant she could be used as punishment, just like Draco had.


	42. Part Two: Chapter Ten

Part Two: Chapter Ten

"Hogwarts letters have arrived," Mrs. Weasley strolls into the kitchen with a frown. The woman had been a wreck ever since she'd learned that Snape was being appointed as Hogwarts new headmaster. She didn't want to send Ginny or Tracy away to a place where they'd be in constant danger. And now that the ministry had passed an official law saying that all pureblooded and half blooded witches and wizards between the ages of 11 and 17 were required to attend Hogwarts, Mrs. Weasley had no choice but to let them go.

"Looks like the ministry has made some staff changes," Tracy frowns as she looks through her schedule. "They are replacing the muggle studies professor who went missing a few months ago with someone named Alecto Carrow."

"And defense against the dark arts is now being taught by Amycus Carrow," Ginny reads off with a frown.

"No!" Mrs. Weasley shouts hysterically upon hearing that bit of news. She turns to look at Kingsley and Lupin, "The Carrows are both death eaters! There must be some way we can keep the girls home."

"I know it's hard to believe Molly, but the girls will be in more danger if we try to keep them here," Lupin tells the woman sadly.

"It's true, mom" Ginny says while frowning down at her book list. "If we don't show up at Hogwarts the death eaters will come to find us right away, and we'll all get in trouble for breaking the law."

"The key will be for you two to just keep a low profile," Kingsley tells the girls. "Just keep your heads down and try not to draw any attention to yourselves."

"You can't be serious?" Fred gasps in disbelief. "Not stir up any trouble while Snape is headmaster? You can't pass up a golden opportunity like that!" George nods his head in agreement.

"Fred! This isn't going to be Hogwarts as you remember it!" Lupin looks to the boy seriously, "What would have earned you a detention before might earn you something much worse now. These aren't just teachers, they are death eaters. Can you imagine what sort of punishment _they'll_ consider appropriate?"

"Well, that's why someone has to boost the student moral" George declares, "If there is nobody to question Snape and the other death eaters, than there will be nothing to give the kids hope, and they'll all be consumed with fear! They need something to root for! Besides, McGonagall and the other professors will still be there. They won't let anything too horrible happen."

"The other professors will have little say in how the students are treated," Kingsley states sternly. "It'll only make their jobs more difficult if they have students acting out on purpose. So, again, my advice is just to try to stay on Snape's good side."

"Not sure the git has a good side," George replies with a snort.

"Best to avoid him completely then," Fred shrugs sounding disappointed.

"Is there _anything_ I'll be able to do for the order once I'm at Hogwarts?" Tracy asks hopefully. She knew she couldn't admit it, but she agreed with Fred and George. She didn't want to just keep her mouth shut and let Snape and the Carrows suck all the life and spirit out of Hogwarts. That would just give Voldemort the satisfaction of having even more power. Tracy wanted to set an example for the students at Hogwarts. She wanted them to see that the death eaters could try to take the kids out of the fight, but they couldn't take the fight out of the kids. Having the right mindset could be just the thing to determine the outcome of this war.

Lupin smiles at the girl's obvious determination; "Just watch out for the younger students. Try to keep them from getting themselves into trouble."

"And keep an eye on the Slytherin students," Kingsley adds, "Many of their parents are death eaters, and they won't be getting in trouble for bullying or tormenting other students anymore." Tracy nodded in understanding. It wasn't going to be just Snape and the Carrows that she'd have to watch out for.

"Did you two ever figure out a way to reach the public yet?" Tracy turns to Fred and George then who break into two identical grins.

"Why yes," Fred beams with delight, "I think that even you, Ms. Ravenclaw brain, will find it to be quite brilliant." Tracy lets out a small laugh.

"Fred and I have decided to start an underground radio broadcast called Potterwatch," George lifts his chin proudly.

"We'll be supplying information to the wizarding community about recent events that are not being printed in the daily prophet," Fred explains, "This will be a way to spread the truth and dispel rumors."

"There are a bunch of lies going around lately that are causing a lot of panic," George pipes in. "But, Potterwatch will set people straight. We're going to encourage people to stay alert and to keep their faith in Harry."

"But won't the death eaters catch on to that?" Tracy asks curiously, "They'll be able to listen in and once they find out who's behind the whole thing, you guys will get in so much trouble."

"Don't underestimate us," Fred grins.

"We've got it all worked out," George agrees. "We'll be changing locations as often as possible and using codenames."

"Not to mention the broadcasts will be password protected," Fred adds. "Nobody will be able to listen in unless they know that day's password."

"Nothing we do is going to be completely safe," Lupin admits, "But on the whole, what Fred and George have come up with is quite genius."

"Why thank you," Fred and George say in unison.

"They'll be making the first broadcast in just a couple of days," Kingsley informs the group.

"Perhaps will get to have you on the show before you go off to Hogwarts," George suggests to Tracy.

"You'll be under a codename, of course" Fred tells her, "But if Harry's listening in, he might like hearing your voice." Tracy doesn't know what else to do but smile and nod her head thankfully. It was very kind of the twins to offer her such an opportunity to reach out to Harry, whom she hadn't seen or heard from in several months now. She hoped that Harry, Ron, and Hermione did have a way to tune in to Pottwerwatch. It would probably make them feel a lot better knowing that they weren't the only ones fighting the war, and that their friends and families were still thinking about them and wishing them well.

"What's that?" Ginny suddenly asks her mother who was clutching something in her hands tearfully.

"Ron's Hogwarts letter," Mrs. Weasley chokes out. "I'm so worried about those three! I just wish there was some indication that they were alright!"

Ginny and Tracy exchanged tired glances. It was always heartbreaking when Mrs. Weasley got so upset over the absence of Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Not hearing from the trio was definitely hard on everyone, but the truth of the matter was that no news was good news. The day they received any information about their friends was the day that they would know that the three had been caught. And that was something that nobody wanted to happen.

* * *

"This came for you," Draco throws an envelope at Danielle when he walks into her room. She takes it and tears it open as Draco reaches under Danielle's mattress to pull out the game boy. He sits in his usual spot, puts his feet up on the desk, and switches the game on.

"Where's yours?" Danielle asks while waving the Hogwarts letter in the air to get Draco's attention. She couldn't believe he had gotten so addicted to Pokémon over the past few weeks. She supposed she shouldn't be that surprised though. It probably helped the guy get his mind off the terrible things going on around him, and whatever horrible things Voldemort had him doing on the missions he was always being sent on.

"I'm not going back," Draco says and looks up at Danielle, "My mother already left this morning to pick up all your school stuff though, so you won't have to go shopping. Inky will be bringing it all up here any minute."

Danielle would have been amused at him remembering how much she hated shopping, but she was too busy being annoyed over the fact that he wasn't going back to school for his final year. Why would he want to stay here with the death eaters instead of going back to Hogwarts with her?

"When did you make that decision?" Danielle asks without trying to hide the irritation in her voice.

"It wasn't my choice," Draco frowns at her accusation. "I've known ever since they put the dark mark on my arm that I wasn't going back to Hogwarts. I live to serve the dark lord now. Having a complete education isn't something that he's really concerned about."

"Well, why didn't you tell me that until just now?" Danielle asks.

"I didn't know it would matter that much to you," Draco sends an annoyed look over to the girl. At that moment, Inky, pops into the room loaded down with about a dozen or more bags. "Inky has brought Misses Emmings her school things" the house elf pants. Danielle rushes over to help the poor creature. She was starting to feel angry with Draco. Of course it mattered to her if he didn't go back to Hogwarts. Danielle had been looking forward to the moment when they could both escape the manor and go back to school together. She had thought that the two of them would be off the hook for a while once they returned to Hogwarts. Apparently she would be leaving Draco behind though, which did not make her very happy at all. She understood that it wasn't exactly his fault, but that didn't stop her from directing her anger at him anyway.

"What is all this?" Danielle asks in disgust as she grabs one of the bags and pulls out a thick black winter cloak. Her lack of sleep and overwhelming emotions from the entire summer were starting to bubble to the surface and fuel her irritation. "I didn't need new robes. What the heck?" Danielle looks into another one of the bags and pulls out a new Ravenclaw blue silk blouse. "Your mom bought me a whole new wardrobe!"

"I know. I told her to," Draco says with a shrug. "What's the big deal?"

"What's the big deal?" Danielle echoes loudly as she looks through the bags of top of the line, designer clothes, "all of this must have cost a fortune!"

"You didn't have to pay for it!" Draco raises his voice a little now as well. He had a lot of pent up stress and anger to get out as well.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about it?" Danielle asks with a huff, "Why did you do this?"

"For your safety!" Draco snaps as if it were obvious. "I can't send you back to Hogwarts with all of your old stuff."

"What's wrong with my old stuff?" Danielle narrows her eyes at him, daring him to make fun of anything she owned.

"I need everyone to know exactly what you are, and who you belong to when you go back to school this year," Draco curls his lip in irritation. Clearly he didn't think that he should have to explain any of this.

"**WHO** I **BELONG** to? Excuse me?" Danielle asks and anger flashes in her eyes. "You think I belong to you?!"

"Will you just listen?" Draco snaps but Danielle interrupts him.

"I don't BELONG to ANYONE!" She declares, "But if that's how you think of me Draco than you mind as well dress me in a pillow case and send me down to work with the house elves!"

"Listen to me! Hogwarts isn't going to be safe for a lot of people this year," Draco growls out and Danielle just glares at him. "You haven't met the Carrow siblings yet, but they're going to be doing a lot more than teaching classes. Snape's putting them in charge of discipline. And that doesn't mean losing house points either; it means torture by the cruciatus Curse." Draco was still holding the game but he was completely focused on what he was telling Danielle. She calmed down pretty quickly now that Draco had mentioned the unforgivable cruciatus curse. Before the ministry had fallen, anyone who used this spell was sent straight to Azkaban prison; no exceptions. "You're a pureblood," Draco continues then, "which gives you an advantage. But being engaged to a death eater will help you even more. Snape, the Carrows, and even the other Slytherins; all of them should keep their distance if they know who you are and who you belong WITH. They'll know for sure that you're off limits if they see that you're dressed to play the part of future Mrs. Malfoy."

Danielle was glad that Draco had changed his wording the second time around, but still couldn't keep the disgust off her face as she thought about students at school being punished with illegal dark magic. To keep herself from having to respond, she continues to search through the bags that Inky had brought. She eventually grabs onto the cloak from before and holds it up so that she could get a better look at it. She could tell it was expensive. The Malfoy crest was embroidered on the left breast. It didn't matter how good Draco's intentions were; she didn't want to wear it. "I still have my mind set on NOT marrying you, you know. I'm NOT going to be a Malfoy." The comment caused Draco to frown in irritation.

"They don't need to know that though," he states icily. "I just wanted to make sure you'd be safe since I won't be there."

"Why?" Danielle asks before she could stop herself.

"BECAUSE I DON'T WANT YOU DO DIE!" Draco shouts and throws his hands up in annoyance. Danielle actually jumps a little at his outburst. Draco then turns away from her, looking embarrassed to have made such a confession. Danielle feels a wave of guilt wash over her. Draco Malfoy, the king of all selfishness and cruelty, had just gone out of his way to do something to protect her life, and here she was yelling at him for it. He had probably never done something like this for anyone before.

"I'm sorry," Danielle stops to take a few deep breaths. "Thank you. That's what I should have said. Thank you for being so thoughtful. This stuff though…"

"I want you to promise me that you'll wear it," Draco looks back up at her seriously.

"Wearing the Malfoy crest along with all these expensive clothes isn't going to stop the death eaters from seeing me talk to my friends in Gryffindor and the teachers who are in the order," Danielle says sadly. "You can't block out who I am by covering me with your name and money Draco. And I refuse to walk around in this stuff just to save my own neck. It's bad enough that I've allowed myself to sit down and eat dinner with death eaters almost every day without doing a thing. Don't you realize how sickening it is to have to sit with these people who have tortured and killed innocent people? I hate it!"

"I know that!" Draco raises his voice and a sneer forms on his face in his anger. "I'm trying to protect you from them!"

"And I appreciate your concern, but I think I can take care of myself well enough without presenting myself as a death eater's wife" Danielle crosses her arms in annoyance. "I care more about what my friends will think of me than Snape and the Carrows."

"So you're not going to wear the things I got you?" Draco asks as he sends a glare at the girl. Danielle knew that his feelings were probably hurt by her comment and that he was covering up his feelings with anger again.

"I don't want to wear them, no" She tells him.

"Well I don't want you to go back to Hogwarts!" Draco snaps, "And I can choose not to let you go!" Anger rises in Danielle quickly.

"_**LET**_ me go?" Danielle laughs and stands up taller. "Please do not tell me that you think I haven't been out of this room in three months because nobody has _**let**_ me. Do you really think I've been trapped in here? That I couldn't get out if I really wanted to? Let's get something straight Draco Malfoy; I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to… if I didn't have a reason."

"You hate this room!" Draco stands up now too. He puts the game boy on the desk and moves so that he is face to face with Danielle. "You've said it a million times! You hate this room, you hate my parents, you hate the other death eaters; How can you possibly say now that you want to be here?"

"I DO hate all those things," Danielle confirms, "I can't stand them! But, you're acting like coming here for the summer wasn't my choice, when it was! I could have put up a fight when your mother told me to come back here after I got off the Hogwarts express. I could have refused to come back to Malfoy Manor at all!"

"Then why didn't you?" Draco snarls and Danielle's anger evolves into hurt.

"I'm leaving," she says quickly, and grabs her school trunk to start throwing her stuff in. She snatches the game boy out off the desk and tosses it in along with a handful of shirts from her closet. She doesn't touch any of the bags that Inky had just delivered.

"You can't just walk out of here!" Draco laughs and crosses his arms, "Mother and Father won't allow it!"

"You're gonna rely on mommy and daddy to put me in my place then, huh?" Danielle growls. She pulls her wand out from under her pillow before going back to throwing clothes and school supplies into her trunk. She goes to pick up a pair of shoes to throw in, but when she turns around she sees that Draco had closed her trunk and was now standing in front of it to block her.

"Move," Danielle says.

"No." was the reply.

"I'm serious. Get out of my way." Danielle says firmly.

"No."Draco repeats.

"Yes!" Danielle snaps and brings her wand up so that the tip of it was aimed right between the boy's eyes. That's when the room door swung open to reveal a livid looking Narcissa.

"What is this?" She gasps when she sees Danielle's wand in her son's face. She immediately pulls out her own wand. Panic flashes over Draco's face.

"Mother, no!" He reaches up and nudges Danielle's wand away from him with one hand while gesturing to his mother to lower hers as well. "We were just having a disagreement."

"I don't care what yo.."

"I'm leaving," Danielle interrupts Mrs. Malfoy and bends down to grab her trunk now that Draco was out of her way.

"I beg your pardon?" The woman stands up straighter and a look of displeasure forms on her face.

"I said I'm leaving," Danielle repeats boldly.

"I don't think so Ms. Emmings." Narcissa fixes her gaze sternly on Danielle. "I'd reconsider this behavior or I'll have to get Lucius up here."

"I'm your son's fiancée not your freaking hostage!" Danielle snaps and makes a move toward the door.

"Danielle…" Draco warns. Danielle stops at hearing the boy use her first name. He'd only called her Danielle one other time, and that was after he had let the death eaters into the school and was trying to convince her that he hadn't betrayed her. She hadn't taken him seriously then, but perhaps she should now.

"This is a very unwise choice young lady," Narcissa lowers her voice and narrows her eyes.

"I think going along with this whole arranged marriage thing was the unwise choice actually," Danielle states bitterly.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Draco's mother was clearly offended. Obviously the idea of someone NOT wanting to marry into her family was unimaginable to her.

"I would be extremely grateful, Mrs. Malfoy, if you would just call off this engagement so that your son and I can go back to hating each other," Danielle says as calmly as she can.

"I do not appreciate you disrespecting me and Draco in this way in our own home!" Narcissa snaps.

"And I don't appreciate having to listen to your cowardly husband and his psychotic buddies talk about genocide at the dinner table every night!" Danielle shouts back in disgust, "And you thought me wearing pants was bad manners!"

"Draco, go downstairs and get your father!" Narcissa commands without taking her eyes off of Danielle for a second.

"Mother, please! Father doesn't need to be bothered with this. I can handle it myself," Draco moves to stand in front of Danielle so that Narcissa wouldn't be able to get a clear shot at the girl with her wand. "Like I said, we were just having a disagreement."

"She had her wand in your face, Draco!" Narcissa shrieks.

"I understand mother," Draco puts his hands up to calm Narcissa down. He gives her a knowing look. When he speaks again the tone in his voice had changed. "I told you I'd handle it. Punishment will be given where punishment is due." Danielle would have made some sort of sarcastic comment about this if it weren't for the fact that Draco sounded dead serious.

"Very well," The woman looked past her son to sneer at Danielle. "I wouldn't let these outbursts become a habit though, girl."

Narcissa finally leaves, and when the door closes, Draco turns around to face Danielle. She is taken aback by the amount of hatred and anger displayed on his face. She hadn't seen him look so evil since before they'd begun working on the cabinet together. She was even more surprised when he let out a sigh causing his face to relax again. That's when Danielle realized that what he had said to his mother about punishing her had been an act to get Narcissa to leave her alone. Draco had protected her even though Danielle had been acting a bit out of line. She was thankful, but it scared her how easily that he could switch back into his pureblood death eater role.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" He asks quietly after he had calmed down, "You really had to take it that far?"

"I'm sorry," Danielle tells him, "But I really do want to leave now."

"You're just frustrated from being cooped up in the room for so long, and from being forced to behave and sensor yourself around my parents and the death eaters," Draco sighs.

"You're right," Danielle nods, "But that isn't why I got angry. I came to Malfoy Manor this summer for a reason and it wasn't because I thought I'd be treated like a pampered princess. Being stuck in this bedroom is the least of my worries."

"I don't understand," Draco confesses as he plops back into the desk chair after snatching the gameboy back out from his fiancée's trunk. Danielle has to take a moment to gather her thoughts before she could respond.

"I'm not a Slytherin," She says simply, "I don't make my decisions based on what is the easiest thing I can do to ensure my survival. I didn't let you put this ring on my hand because I had something to benefit from it. Choosing to help you with the vanishing cabinet didn't do anything for me either. And I haven't been holding my tongue around your parents and the death eaters for three months because of what they might do to me." Danielle sits back down on her bed and crosses her arms. "All of the choices I've made have ended up inconveniencing me actually."

"Well I'm sorry being around me has been so miserable for you," Draco frowns.

"We agreed that I hate this room, and the death eaters, and your parents," Danielle replies, "But, I don't recall you ever being on the list." Draco's eyes snap up from the game screen to look at Danielle curiously. "I'm not angry because I've wasted three months of my life trapped in a manor full of death eaters that treat me like crap. That is irritating, but I sort of expected it. What angers me is that when I leave to go back to Hogwarts, you won't be with me. You're the one thing I don't hate about this place Draco, and you're the one thing that I am going to regret leaving behind."

"You don't want to be away from me?" Draco asks looking suddenly vulnerable and unsure. "You came here... to be with me?" Danielle nods and Draco frowns, "Why?"

"Because Dumbledore failed," Danielle sighs, "and his failure meant that you-know-who won! It meant that you were going to come back here and be completely surrounded by evil and darkness. It meant that you might get caught up in the death eater lifestyle, and end up forgetting why you even went to Dumbledore in the first place. He and I made a promise to help you; Dumbledore may have failed, but I haven't yet."

"I'm still a death eater though so…" Draco didn't want to tell her that she sort of did fail.

"There is a difference between playing the role of a death eater, and actually being one," Danielle declares before holding up her hand, "I have an engagement ring on my finger and act like your fiancée but that doesn't mean that I actually want to marry you. It's a game of tug of war with you right now Draco, and as long as I still have a grip on my end of the rope, as long as I still have a presence in your life, the death eaters can't pull you completely to their side. I don't want you turning into a deranged mindless killer like your Aunt Bellatrix, or Fenrir Greyback. I won't let that happen to you." Draco scrunches his face up as he studies Danielle cautiously.

"Why?" He asks.

Danielle raises her eyebrows at him, "because you're better than that."

"How do you know?" Draco challenges.

"I suppose I don't know for sure," was the reply, "But, I guess we'll be finding out once I go back to Hogwarts, won't we?"

* * *

**Okay, so I have to admit this is one of my favorite Danielle/Draco moments. I feel like a lot happened with them in this brief incident. What do you all think? I'd love to hear your thoughts and opinions!**


	43. Part Two: Chapter Eleven

Part Two: Chapter Eleven

"Hello, this is Rodent and Rapier, welcome to another broadcasting of Potterwatch. Today, we'll start off with an update on the newly formed muggleborn registration commission. Handfuls of muggleborns have already gone in for their interviews, and so far, the ministry has proven to be extremely unforgiving to the poor folks who are trying their best to cooperate with the new law," Fred announces into the microphone that would send his voice out to the hundreds of people who had already started to listen in.

"Which, if you think about it, isn't too surprising considering the people in charge of these interviews are death eaters," George adds in.

"Right, and the point is, we strongly discourage all muggleborns, and anybody who the death eaters accuse of being muggleborn, from going into the ministry," Fred sighs. "Most of those who have gone in have either been sent to Azkaban after being falsely convicted of stealing magic, or have been stripped of their wands and jobs before being turned out onto the streets with no way to support or protect themselves."

"There has also been an enormous increase in the number of unexplainable muggle deaths and disappearances over the past few weeks," George says gravely, "These poor people obviously have no idea what is going on, and the folks here at Potterwatch would like to ask that those living in muggle areas take a few moments to cast some protective charms over you neighbors houses."

"Who knows how many lives we can save by just taking these sorts of small protective measures," Fred agrees. "But now, let's move on to our pals of Potter feature."

"Today we have a very special guest, who is new to Potterwatch but not new to Harry Potter," George grins over at Tracy, "We like to call her Thunder."

"Hello," Tracy leans in and speaks softly into the microphone.

"So, we all know that Harry Potter has been labeled 'Undesirable Number One' by the people at the daily prophet," George continues, "What do you have to say to those who still believe that rubbish?"

"I'd say that the Prophet has been known to print lies before," Tracy states boldly, "Don't forget that the prophet called Harry and Dumbledore liars when they first said that you-know-who was back. They ate their words after all those death eaters escaped from Azkaban, didn't they?"

"Very true," Fred nods his head.

"For so long, Harry was the symbol of hope for the magical world because of the way he survived the killing curse; proving that you-know-who wasn't invincible, that he was something that could be defeated," Tracy goes on confidently, "Don't you think that, because of this, Harry would be the first person that you-know-who would want to take down if he were to ever want to take over the wizarding world?"

"Undeniably!" George confirms.

"The ministry is trying to destroy our perceptions of Harry because they want to destroy our hope," Tracy declares, "But I think it is very important that we continue to support Harry, and continue to trust in him. After all, to the death eaters, he may be undesirable number one. But, to us, he is still the boy who lived; he's still the chosen one."

"Couldn't have said it better myself, Thunder" George tells Tracy seriously, "and what is your message to Harry if he is out there listening right now?"

"I love you Harry, and I hope that your efforts are proving to be successful. I know I don't need to tell you to be safe and to be smart. You're a great person, a lot better than some people are giving you credit for right now, but I still have complete faith in you!"

"And she isn't the only one who does," Fred nods his head.

"Well, that wraps up another Potterwatch. Thank you all for listening. The password for the next broadcast will be Phoenix," George announces, "so, don't forget to tune in!"

* * *

"How come you've never asked me about Harry?" Danielle asks Draco curiously as she goes through her room one more time just to make sure she had everything before she had to leave with Narcissa to go to Kings Cross station.

"Why would I?" was the response.

"Your dad, you-know-who, and all the death eaters are working their butts off to try and find him," Danielle states. "I was more or less friends with him last year, and my best friend is dating him. Don't you think I might know where he is?"

"Would you tell me if I did ask?" Draco looks at her with a raised eyebrow.

"No," Danielle confesses, "But you never even tried."

"Obviously it would have been pointless." Danielle knew that nothing was pointless when it came to the death eaters. They had ways of making you talk if they thought you might have useful information.

"Do your parents know that I was close to Harry?" Danielle can't help but ask.

"They know that you talked to him a little bit," Draco tells her with a shrug. "They know you're friends with Ross, and that she's dating Potter." Danielle stopped looking through her wardrobe for a moment to look at Draco.

"Why haven't they tried to question me then?" She asks. She knew that the Malfoys were desperate to get back in with Voldemort, and Voldemort was desperate to find Harry. Why hadn't Draco's parents confronted her?

"I told them that you wouldn't know anything important. I said that Potter didn't really trust you after he found out you were engaged to me," He explains and Danielle feels surprised. This boy seemed to be making a habit out of protecting her.

"Thank you," she whispers and Draco only shrugs again and looks away.

"You don't have to go back to Hogwarts," He mumbles after a moment.

"I do," Danielle disagrees. "As much as I'd like to keep an eye on you, I really do need to get out of here. I need to see my friends again; to talk to my family, and to live. I'm not even playing the role of Draco Malfoy's fiancée by being here. I'm just a hostage."

"You're safe here though," Draco offers.

"But I'm not free," Danielle sighs.

"Freedom is overrated," He gives her a small smile causing her to laugh.

"Only to you because you've never experienced it," She says and Draco frowns. "It's true," Danielle goes on, "I don't think you've ever had complete control over your life."

"Whatever," Draco shrugs before looking back down. Danielle continues to look at him though. She was worried about going back to Hogwarts, and leaving Draco at the mercy of Voldemort. Would he be alright? Had she even made a difference by being at Malfoy Manor in the first place? Would she ever see him again after she left? He could very well die on one of his missions. The thought made Danielle feel sick all of a sudden.

"It's almost time for me to go," She says and Draco frowns. "Get up," She tells him. He rolls his eyes and sighs in annoyance but stands up from the desk chair. Danielle walks over and hugs him tightly. He sighs in annoyance again but hugs her back. "Be safe while I'm gone," She says, "and don't die."

"Yeah," Was the response.

"I'm serious," Danielle looks him straight in the eye after she pulls away.

"Alright, I hear you" He mumbles looking a little embarrassed.

"Good," Danielle nods her head before picking up her trunk to haul downstairs. She didn't feel like making Inky do it.

"You… be safe too" Draco mutters awkwardly. Danielle smiles at him and says she will. She hadn't expected this moment to be so hard for either of them. She didn't know what it meant, but she hoped this wasn't the last time she'd ever see him.

* * *

**Sorry this chapter is a little on the short side. I had to do it or else the chapter before or the chapter after would have been way too long. What did you think of this though? I think there has been a big shift in Draco and Danielle's relationship since their fight in the previous chapter. I think they see each other a little differently after opening up a little. *Shrugs* :)**


	44. Part Two: Chapter Twelve

Part Two: Chapter Twelve

The last time that Tracy had come to Kings Cross station to board the Hogwarts express the experience had been mind blowing. The whole platform around the train had been packed with people, all hurrying around and talking to each other loudly. There had been an air of excitement as first years prepared for their first trip to the castle, and older students laughed and caught up with their friends. When she had come here with Danielle, the whole place seemed to be filled with smiles and joy.

This year, the scene was just as mind blowing, but in a very different way. The platform was almost completely silent. Nobody was intermingling. Families were huddled together, talking in hushed voices and clinging to each other as if they might never see each other again. Everyone looked afraid, and Tracy knew it was for good reason.

She looked over at Ginny who was trying desperately to calm her hysterical mother down. Mr. Weasley was there as well, looking pale and tired. He too was trying to sooth Mrs. Weasley even though he was just as distraught at sending his little girl away. Tracy felt terrible for the Weasleys. The war had already taken such a huge toll on their family. First George had his ear cursed off by Snape, then Ron had left without being able to tell anyone where he was going or why, and now Ginny was being taken away to attend a school that had a death eater as a headmaster. Tracy was glad her family was very far away from here. She didn't know what she would do if Josh and her mom were mixed up in all the danger.

"And you!" Mrs. Weasley suddenly turns her attention to Tracy and pulls her into a bone crushing hug. "You be careful too young lady! Just remember everything that Lupin and Kingsley told you! And don't forget you still have McGonagall and the other professors to go to if you need anything!"

"I know Mrs. Weasley," Tracy laughs through the tears that were starting to build up in her own eyes. Over the summer, she had become very fond of the red haired woman. She had treated Tracy as if she were her own daughter. Tracy thought it was incredible that, with such a big family and everything going on, Mrs. Weasley could still put in the effort to find a place for Tracy close to her heart.

"Is that your friend over there with Narcissa Malfoy?" Mr. Weasley asks then, nodding his head over to where the familiar tall, elegantly dressed, long blonde haired woman stood next to a shorter, auburn haired Danielle. Narcissa had a strict look on her face as she gave some sort of a speech to Danielle, who Tracy could tell was holding back from strangling the woman in front of her.

"I'll meet you on the train, ok?" Tracy asks Ginny quickly. The girl just nods her head; she had wanted a few minutes alone with her parents anyway.

"Thanks again, for everything" Tracy nods to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, "I'll see you again soon, I promise." She gives them both another quick hug before dashing off after Danielle. She tossed her trunk into the growing pile waiting to be loaded onto the train, and then rushed through the aisle, looking into every compartment until she found the one that Danielle was occupying. She threw open the door and rushed in.

"You're alive!" was the first thing that comes out of her mouth. Danielle looks up at her and breaks into a huge grin. She shoots off her seat so that she can engulf her best friend in a hug. The two didn't usually act so affectionately towards each other, but the three months that they had been apart had been scary and emotional.

The two girls quickly dove into a long description of what they had each been through over the summer. Tracy told Danielle all about Mrs. Emmings' new mansion, battling death eaters at the wedding, Ron, Hermione, and Harry leaving, Potterwatch, the other members of the order of the phoenix, and Abby staying back in the United States to escape the war. Danielle was relieved to learn that her sister was safe, and that nobody she knew had been killed. She felt embarrassed to tell Tracy that she had spent her summer locked up in a bedroom, eating dinner with death eaters, and teaching Draco to play Pokémon. Being away from Malfoy manor now was the most excitement she'd had in almost four months.

"It's not your fault," Tracy tells her friend reassuringly. "You did the right thing by not putting up a fight. It would have been foolish to try to take on all those death eaters by yourself."

"Well, I did push my luck a few times," Danielle looks down sheepishly. "But, I couldn't help it. To just sit and do nothing while all of that crap was going on around me… it was torture."

"Lucky you had Draco there," Tracy raises her eyebrows at her friend. "It sounds to me as if he's gotten pretty protective over you. I mean, with the lying to his parents about how close you were to Harry, and standing up for you after you angered his mom, and even buying you all of those expensive clothes." Danielle blushes under her friend's gaze.

"I think it's because for him, I'm an escape from reality," Danielle mumbles.

"Or maybe, he has actually grown to care for you," Tracy suggests with a small laugh. "What did he say to you again? 'It's nice to finally have someone who actually cares?' Danielle, that's crazy. I can't even imagine Draco saying something that honest and meaningful. You've obviously made some sort of impact on him, which is good. That's why we all agreed that you should go to Malfoy Manor in the first place, isn't it?" Danielle just shrugged. She was suddenly realizing how weird it was that she had pretty much spent a whole summer alone with a guy.

"So what was his mother telling you on the platform?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Oh, you know, the whole 'don't bring shame to the Malfoy legacy' spiel," Danielle lets out a disgusted snort. "Like that even matters anymore."

"What do you mean?" Tracy questions her.

"Did you know there was some sort of prophecy involving both Harry and You-know-who?" Danielle asks and Tracy's eyes widen in shock while nodding her head yes. Danielle hadn't expected her friend to know about that but she continued anyway, "Well, Draco's dad destroyed the thing before you-know-who could hear it."

"I know," Tracy once again shocks Danielle. "Harry was there remember? I told you he was at the ministry of magic when the death eaters broke in."

"You didn't tell me about the prophecy," Danielle says, feeling a little left out.

"Harry didn't tell me about that until later when he started telling me about all the secret stuff Dumbledore had him doing," Tracy says apologetically. "He's sort of reluctant to tell people about the prophecy. He doesn't want a lot of people to know about it because of all the attention and pressure that it will put on him."

"Does that mean he knows what the prophecy said?" Danielle asks curiously. She wasn't angry at Tracy for keeping this information from her before. They had both been keeping secrets from each other under Dumbledore's orders last year. They had both agreed not to let it affect their friendship.

"He does," Tracy frowns suddenly looking grave, "and it's a tall order to fill." Danielle could tell that her friend didn't know if she should go into more detail or if she even could. Whatever the prophecy said must be pretty intense because it had Tracy looking pretty upset.

"I'm just going to take a wild guess and assume that it had something to do with Harry being the key to winning this war," Danielle states and Tracy nods.

"More or less," She says before shaking out of her sadness, "but it's a good thing that Lucius dropped it. If you-know-who had gotten his hands on it, it could have been bad for Harry."

"Well, I think you-know-who knows that, because he isn't very happy with Draco's dad anymore" Danielle explains.

"Did you-know-who punish him in some way?" Tracy grimaces.

"He tried to," Danielle says boldly now. This still made her angry to think about, "It's why Draco was branded with the dark mark and given those missions last year. Lucius was meant to sit back and watch as his son tried and failed to complete the impossible tasks of fixing the vanishing cabinet and killing Dumbledore. You-know-who planned on killing Draco for failing, to destroy the only male heir to the Malfoy line the way Lucius had destroyed the prophecy."

"What a sick monster," Tracy snaps looking livid. "I'm so glad you helped Draco, now." Danielle was surprised to hear her friend admit this. "Do you realize what you did?" Tracy asks looking proud, "You undermined some of that idiot's power. If you-know-who decides that Draco Malfoy will fail and then die, then you better believe that Draco Malfoy will fail and then die."

"But he didn't," Danielle tilts her head curiously.

"Exactly!" Tracy grins widely now, "I bet you-know-who was furious!" Tracy lets out a laugh now, "My best friend foiled the most powerful dark wizard in the world's plans. Excellent!" Danielle laughs then too. She had never looked at it that way before.

"You're making me sound a lot more awesome than I really am," she shakes her head.

"DANIELLE!" The door to their train compartment suddenly flies open and a group of people came inside. The person who had cheered Danielle's name was Seamus Finnigan. He had developed a little crush on Danielle the previous year, but his efforts to win her over had been overshadowed by her surprise arranged engagement to Draco, and by the amount of time and effort Danielle had devoted to helping Draco fix the vanishing cabinet. It was sort of odd to see the boy again, actually. Danielle hadn't thought about him much over the summer because of everything else going on. She wondered if he still liked her.

"Hello Seamus," she smiles to the boy and moves over in her seat to make room for the other new comers. The only other person that Danielle recognized in the group was Ginny, Ron's little sister.

"We knew you two needed some time to catch up," The girl says as she takes a seat next to Tracy, "But I wanted to introduce you to some people before we get back to the castle."

"No problem," Tracy tells the red headed girl. Ginny nods and points to a shy looking boy who had sat down next to Seamus.

"This is Neville," She explains. "He's a seventh year Gryffindor." Ginny then turns to point at the long blonde haired girl with huge radish earrings, "This is Luna Lovegood. She's in my year, but she's a Ravenclaw like you guys."

"It's nice to meet you," Danielle says as she and Tracy shake Neville and Luna's hands.

"Oh, you're the one who's engaged to Draco Malfoy!" Luna smiles dreamily at Danielle. "He's very handsome. Not someone I'd choose to marry, but I wish you two a happy future none the less." Danielle feels her face flush red with heat once again. She had forgotten that her engagement had been announced in the daily prophet and that pretty much everyone knew about it.

"You're still engaged to that sod?" Seamus turns to look at Danielle before letting his eyes fall down onto the ring occupying her hand. Danielle had to hold herself back from losing her temper with the boy. It wasn't her fault that she was still engaged to Draco. The ring was magically bound to her finger, and the only person who could take it off was her fiancé. And he wasn't going to take the silly thing off of her until he had his parent's permission. She also didn't like Seamus calling Draco names. She had to remind herself though that none of these guys knew Draco like she did. They still knew him as the prejudiced Slytherin boy who'd teased, tormented, and bullied them.

"I told you that I wasn't sure how long it would be before I could get out of this arrangement," Danielle bites out. Arguing about the engagement seemed ridiculous to her considering the war going on around them. Neville flinched a little at the tone in Danielle's voice and Luna was looking at her curiously. Great, Danielle thinks, looks like I'm going to be as good as making friends as I was last year. At that moment, the train gave a lurch as it suddenly began to slow down.

"We're stopping," Ginny frowns as she looks around the compartment, "Why would we be stopping? We aren't nearly to Hogwarts yet."

"Looks like death eaters," Tracy sighs as she looks out of the window to see a handful of cloaked figures making their way onto the train.

"What are they doing?" Seamus asks looking a little fearful. Everyone pulled out their wands, preparing for the worst.

"They're looking for Harry," Ginny decides, "I'll bet anything they are." It was just a moment or two later when their compartment door opened to reveal the monstrous face of Fenrir Greyback.

"Hello kiddies," He sneers and Danielle's stomach turns. The creepy werewolf looked around the compartment before locking eyes with Danielle. His face lit up when he recognized her. "Well well, what's this? Long time no see." Tracy and the others gave Danielle a curious look before the death eater spoke again. "Haven't seen that nuisance Harry Potter have you sweetie?" He asked her as his face split into a predatory grin.

"He's not here!" Neville shouts bravely.

"I didn't ask you," The death eater growls before turning back to Danielle. An overwhelming urge to kill this man where he stood pulsed through her as she met his gaze. But, she knew she couldn't do that. The consequences would be severe, not only for herself but for Tracy and the others in her compartment as well. That's when another idea came to her. She took a deep breath before getting to her feet and crossing her arms. She lifted her head and put on her best face of displeasure.

"Don't you think I would have informed someone if I had seen Potter?" Danielle had never called Harry by his last name before so she hoped it had sounded natural.

"I was just asking," The man frowned. He looked once around the compartment again before grinning. His eyes were looking Danielle up and down again. He even had the nerve to lick his lips which caused Danielle to feel completely disgusted. "Young Draco isn't very smart letting his fiancée go off unprotected. I'm surprised they didn't keep you at the manor so you'd be out of harm's way."

"I don't need their protection," Danielle says with false confidence as she holds up her wand, "I'm quite capable of handling myself."

"I was under the impression they had locked you up all summer so they didn't have to worry about your fragile self getting hurt by any scary old death eaters?" Greyback smirked.

"They locked me up so that I couldn't sneak out at night and slaughter you in your sleep," Danielle drops the pristine pureblood act for a moment.

"Those are some colorful words coming from a LADY," a ferocious snarl takes over the death eater's face.

"You don't have much room to talk you filthy mutt!" Danielle snaps, holding up her chin again and looking down her nose at Greyback. She was trying to act stuck up and Malfoyish. She was also releasing a lot of the pent up anger she'd been feeling toward this man since the moment he he'd first laid eyes on her. "Frankly, I can't believe the Malfoys still allow you and your dirty paws in the manor! I guess with your lack of manners and unrefined behavior, they see you more as a pet than anything. Pity, I'm more of a cat person myself." A look of rage bloomed on Greyback's face now, and Danielle could sense the fear growing in her friends. They had no idea why Danielle would goad a death eater in such a way.

"You're just like the Malfoys," Greyback grows out after a second. "You think you're better than everyone else."

"I don't _think_ I'm better than everyone else," Danielle tries on a smirk, "I _know_ I am." Greyback looked outraged.

"Laugh while you can," He clenches his fists, "Because soon the Malfoys will have lost all the dark lord's respect, and I will be free to do to you as I please."

"Good, I'd like the chance to put you in your place as well," Danielle narrows her eyes, "six feet below the dirt." Greyback curled his lip back and snarled. Danielle just quirks an eyebrow at him, "Obviously boy wonder isn't here, so you can leave now." Greyback continued to glare at her for a moment before letting out a growl and stomping out of the compartment. When the door clicked shut, Danielle let out a sigh of relief and plopped back down into her seat.

"Danielle, what were you thinking?" Tracy asks in shock. "You could have gotten yourself killed."

"No," Danielle shakes her head, "He won't hurt me. He can't."

"You just told me before that the Malfoy name is rubbish now, and that death eater confirmed it," Tracy retorts looking a bit angry at her friend's reckless behavior.

"The Malfoy name IS rubbish, to you-know-who" Danielle confirms, "But Lucius still has some authority over the other death eaters. They have to listen to him even though they don't like to."

"Who was that anyway?" Neville asks, "And how does he know you so well? I know you're engaged to Malfoy, but isn't the whole thing arranged? Seamus told me earlier that you didn't even like Malfoy." Danielle closed her eyes to collect her thoughts. It was strange to have so many people around and talking to her now after only having Draco as company for so long. It was a bit overwhelming.

"That was Fenrir Greyback," Danielle begins to explain.

"The werewolf?!" Tracy gasps, "Lupin told me about him! Danielle, he's extremely dangerous! I can't believe you talked to him in that way!" Danielle fought off the glare she wanted to send at her friend.

"I know he's dangerous!" She sighs, "I sort of spent my whole summer hearing him talk about the disgusting things he liked to do to people."

"What do you mean you spent the whole summer with him?" Seamus asks her accusingly.

"Didn't you hear what that death eater said?" Luna adds in now with a soft smile, "She was with the Malfoys this summer." Seamus looked at Danielle with anger and distrust now. Danielle didn't think it was fair for him to judge her so harshly. He had no idea what she had been though since the last time they'd seen each other.

"You stayed at Malfoy's house?" Neville asks her cautiously.

"Yes," Danielle admits feeling a little cornered, "I stayed at Malfoy Manor over summer break. Draco's parent's requested that I stay there since I am engaged to their son, and I didn't fight them on it. As you know, Lucius is a death eater. I didn't want to put myself or my family in danger by angering him." She left out the part about her wanting to be there for Draco. She knew they wouldn't understand.

"Did you learn anything that might be useful to the order with all those other death eaters around?" Ginny then asks, also looking skeptical.

"I don't know, they didn't ever discuss anything too important around me" Danielle admits, "I just know that they're doing everything they can to find Harry right now."

As the train ride to Hogwarts continued, Tracy, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Seamus questioned Danielle all about what she had witnessed and experienced while at the Malfoy's. It was a bit overwhelming, but Danielle knew she had to be as honest with them as possible so that they wouldn't suspect her of being on you-know-who's side. She had a feeling, that this school year might be even more ridiculous than the last one.

* * *

**Okay guys, Tracy and Danielle are finally back together and on their way to Hogwarts! What do you think about Danielle's confrontation with Greyback? It was a bit reckless, I agree, but I think she's had a lot of pent up aggression from holding in her true feelings over the summer. It had to come out at some point... I mean, we all know Danielle doesn't like taking anyone's crap haha :) Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Don't forget to review!**


	45. Part Two: Chapter Thirteen

Part Two: Chapter Thirteen

The dark, depressing atmosphere from King's cross station did not disappear once the students got to Hogwarts. If anything, the feelings of fear were intensified as strangers in ministry cloaks forced them all into single file lines, and herded them towards the castle like cattle going for slaughter. Before anyone was allowed into the school, attendance was taken as well. The death eaters wanted to make sure that everyone was accounted for, that nobody had ignored the law that made coming to Hogwarts mandatory. They also wanted to make sure no muggleborns had foolishly decided to try to come back to school. Danielle had already seen a handful of children get bound and taken away because of their blood status. She itched to help them, but knew she couldn't under these circumstances.

"Name and blood status?" A tall frightening man sneers down at Danielle once she reaches the large wooden doors that lead to the magical school's entrance hall.

"Danielle Emmings," She sighs in irritation, "Pureblood." The man looks down at a list before checking something off. He then waves his wand over her and mutters some charm that Danielle didn't know before allowing her through. Behind her she heard her friends.

"Tracy Ross, Pureblood."

"Neville Longbottom, Pureblood."

"Seamus Finnigan, Half-blood."

"Luna Lovegood, Pureblood"

"Ginny Weasley, Pureblood."

Once they had all made it into the castle, Neville leaned in towards Danielle. "Was that one of the Carrows?" He asks her. Danielle shrugged to indicate she didn't know. She felt a little uncomfortable to be the go-to person for death eater questions.

"What's the spell that they keep casting, do?" Ginny whispers. Danielle didn't know, but Tracy did.

"It detects disguises," she informs the group quietly, "They probably want to make sure that Harry or any other muggleborns haven't tried to sneak in using Polyjuice Potion or anything else that might alter their appearance. Kingsley told me that they might do something like this."

Out of habit, Danielle and Tracy immediately turned to follow Ginny, Neville, and Seamus over to the Gryffindor table once they entered the great hall. The two girls had gotten used to sitting with their friends from Gryffindor house, but apparently inter-house mingling was no longer allowed. Snape himself seemed to appear out of nowhere to block their way.

"Ravenclaw table is over there," Snape peers down his long nose. Hatred flared up in both Danielle and Tracy upon seeing this man. It was the first time they had seen their old potions professor since he'd killed Dumbledore. Danielle bit her tongue to keep from saying something she'd regret as she and Tracy turned around to head over to the Ravenclaw table. "Oh and Ms. Emmings," Snape calls out causing Danielle to turn back around; "I noticed your sister hasn't returned with you. Does she think herself to be above the new law?"

"That law was passed by the Ministry of Magic here in England," Danielle states as confidently as possible. "My sister lives in the United States, so it doesn't apply to her."

"Well that's convenient," Snape says in monotone. "Unfortunately, it is not up to you to decide who certain laws do or do not apply to. I shall be sending someone to retrieve her right away."

"WHAT?!" Danielle shouts without thinking. Everyone in the great hall; students, professors, ministry workers, and death eaters turn to look. It had been unnaturally quiet in the large room causing Danielle's outburst to echo off the walls loudly. Two almost identical short and stocky people came walking over now. Danielle thought that these must be the Carrow siblings.

"Is there a problem here Severus?" The girl asks with an evil smile. She gripped her wand excitedly in her stubby fingers.

"Why does my sister have to come here?" Danielle asks boldly. She didn't care about being rude to these death eaters. She just wanted her sister to stay safely tucked away back in the States. "She's only twelve years old. She's not trying to cause trouble or anything. And she's a pureblood, so what's the big deal?"

"You're the one who's making it a big deal," the male Carrow narrows his eyes. "If your sister is twelve years old and pureblooded, she qualifies to come to Hogwarts. And if you're here, there is no reason why she can't come too."

"There is a reason!" Danielle raises her voice, and Tracy gives her sleeve a warning tug. Danielle couldn't just start verbally abusing three death eaters in the middle of the great hall.

"That's enough Ms. Emmings" Snape snaps back. "Please go find a seat at the Ravenclaw table with Ms. Ross." Danielle wanted to argue some more, but she felt Tracy grab her arm and start to pull her away. It was terrible that Abby was going to be forced to come back, but fighting Snape on the subject was a bad idea. So she did what she was told and went over to her house table. They would have to think of a new way to keep Abby safe once she was back at Hogwarts.

After the welcoming feast, Danielle and Tracy followed their new friend Luna up to the fifth floor where the entrance to Ravenclaw tower was located. They gave the password before going into the common room and settling down into the blue couches around the fireplace.

"This isn't Hogwarts anymore," Tracy sighs sadly. Snape's first act as headmaster had been to write a completely new set of rules for all students to follow. There was to be no talking or communication of any kind in the hallways or at meal times. In fact, nobody was to be out of their common rooms unless they were heading to a class or to the great hall. There would be no more Quidditch or any other school events, including the special trips to Hogsmead village that older students were usually allowed to go on.

"I know," Danielle frowns, "I don't want Abby to come back here. What is she supposed to do? She's in Gryffindor. How are we supposed to keep an eye on her if we're never going to be allowed to talk to her or see her?"

"At least Ginny, Seamus, and Neville can look out for her," Tracy points out.

"But, I still won't be able to talk to her," Danielle groans.

"What about the DA coins? Couldn't we use those?" Luna pipes in with a small smile.

"Luna, you were in the DA?" Tracy asks feeling a little shocked. Danielle had no idea what the DA was.

"Yes," Luna nods her head happily.

"What is the DA?" Danielle asks feeling left out again.

"DA stands for Dumbledore's army," Luna explains, "It's a club that Harry Potter formed back when you-know-who first came back. A bunch of students gathered together in secret, and Harry taught us spells and other useful magic that he had used in his fights before. Since what we were doing was against the rules at the time, we had to meet at random times so that the ministry woman who had taken Dumbledore's place as headmaster wouldn't find out. So to keep everyone connected, Hermione Granger invented these neat little coins. Whenever a meeting was scheduled, she would send us the date and time on the coins. It was quite ingenious actually."

"Dumbledore's army," Danielle repeats looking extremely impressed, "Dumbledore's ARMY led by Harry Potter. That is REALLY cool." Tracy laughs a little at her friend's obvious excitement.

"Ginny and I talked about getting the DA back together over the summer" Tracy then looks between her two fellow Ravenclaws. "Maybe we still can. Do those coins still work?"

"Well, we haven't used them in almost two years," Luna admits, "But everyone in the DA had one. I'm not sure if they still do."

"I still have mine!"

Danielle and Tracy turn around to see Cho Chang coming down from the girl's dormitories. Cho Chang was another Ravenclaw in Danielle and Tracy's year. She was similar in body type to Tracy, except Cho was Asian. She was known in the school for being the seeker of the now extinct Ravenclaw Quidditch team. She was known to Tracy as being Harry's ex-girlfriend.

"You were in the DA too?" Tracy asks sounding a little put off by the idea.

"Yes! Of course!" The girl laughs and Danielle sees the muscles in Tracy's jaw tighten, "Are we starting up the meetings again? If we are, I'm totally game!"

"I think it's a great idea as well," Luna looks to Tracy and Danielle for their input.

"Well, we don't know how to use the coins," Tracy sighs in thought, "Ginny might know, but there won't be many opportunities for us to talk to her with all the new rules. And we have to be careful about talking about it at all. If Snape were to catch wind of this, it could mean serious trouble." The warnings from Lupin and Kingsley were playing in Tracy's mind now. But the conflicting words of Fred and George were also trying to influence her decisions. Getting the DA back together was risky, but it would give people hope. Just the mere thought of doing this had Danielle, Luna, and Cho looking thrilled. The risk might just be worth it.

"Ginny is in my grade," Luna states, "I have transfiguration with her. I could ask her about the coins and the DA then. McGonagall teaches that class so it won't be that bad if she overhears anything."

"The worst she'll do is tell us not to do it," Tracy agrees. "But, if we can get the coins working, all we'll have to do is find a place to meet. Where did you guys go before?"

"The room of requirement," Cho answers, "But I'm not sure if it is still accessible."

"It is," Danielle informs the group, "At least, as of last year it was."

"Excellent!" Luna claps her hands, "I can't wait!"

"We have to be careful though guys," Tracy says seriously. "Bringing back the DA could put us in serious danger."

"There is a war going on outside and we're attending a school run by death eaters," Danielle looks at her friend with a frown, "We're already in serious danger."

* * *

**How do you guys feel about the new, spookier, Hogwarts? And about Abby being forced to come back? Things are getting crazy! AH!**


	46. Part Two: Chapter Fourteen

Part Two: Chapter Fourteen

"I see Malfoy managed to avoid marrying you this summer, Emmings" Theodore Nott whispers over to Danielle who had just sat down with Tracy for their first charms class of the year. Professor Flitwick, who was both the charms professor and the head of Ravenclaw house, hadn't come in yet so students were taking advantage of this time to talk freely to one another. Danielle looked over at the Slytherin boy who had addressed her with a frown. He had the same sandy brown hair and olive skin as his father.

"How about we agree to just not talk to each other this year, Nott?" Danielle suggests to the boy with a fake smile.

"That would work just fine," the boy sneers, "Except for the fact that you seem to need constant reminding of how unworthy you are to even be considered for the position of a pureblood wife. Do you really think hanging out around Ross is going to gain you any popularity with the Malfoys?"

"You were tripping over your own feet trying to get Tracy to pay attention to you last year," Danielle defends her friend who was glaring over at Theodore but keeping her mouth shut.

"Yeah, until she started dating Potter!" He tells her irritably. "Which, by the way Ross, how does it feel to be dating a criminal? It's about bloody time that overrated idiot is exposed for what he really is, a disgrace to the wizarding world, just like all those mudbloods. Although the ministry seems to be going a bit easy on them in my opinion; if it was up to me they'd all go straight to the dementors to get the kiss." This comment caused both Danielle and Tracy to gasp in horror. Dementors were some of the most terrifying and foul creatures that existed. They delighted on sucking every happy feeling and memory out of a person, causing them to feel nothing but fear and despair. The ministry used to use these creatures to guard Azkaban prison before you-know-who took over. One of the worst sentences a person could receive was the dementor's kiss. This kiss was actually the dementor sucking out a person's soul, leaving them in a permanently vegetative state. It was a fate worse than death.

"That's disgusting," Danielle couldn't help but snap at Theodore's suggestion.

"That's extermination!" he laughs and Danielle begins to think that, perhaps, Theodore Nott might actually be the foulest creature in existence.

"If anyone should have their soul sucked out by a dementor it should be you!" She flicks him off, "if you even have one."

"You better watch your mouth Emmings," Nott then glares dangerously. "You wouldn't want your fiancé finding out you're a mudblood lover. I know your engagement is the only thing keeping your family from going in the poor house and I've been asked to keep an eye on you."

"Screw you!" Danielle growls as Professor Flitwick finally strolls into the classroom. Theodore glares at Danielle for a second more before turning away.

"His father is a death eater," Danielle tells Tracy quietly while they watch their teacher prepare for the lecture, "He was at the manor almost every night for dinner."

"Perhaps you should try to avoid fighting with him then," Tracy says seriously. "If you piss him off enough he might send word to his dad, or to the Malfoys. They won't like it if they think you're causing trouble and embarrassing the family name or whatever."

"I know, but what he said about the muggleborns and Harry was just awful," Danielle clenches her teeth as she thinks about the dementors. She knew it was a bad idea to mouth off to the wrong people, but it was hard for her not to now that she wasn't at Malfoy manor anymore where she'd been so restricted.

"I agree, but fighting Nott isn't helping anyone" Tracy sighs. "He's trying to get you in trouble, and if you keep letting him bait you he's going to succeed. It's already bad enough that you're friends with me."

"Being engaged to Draco kind of sucks," Danielle admits then. Before she had left the manor, Draco had told her that being engaged to a death eater should make her life at Hogwarts easier. He had been wrong. This entire year was going to be a huge clash between who Danielle was supposed to be pretending to be, and who she really was. It was impossible for her to choose one over the other. There were too many people involved in both her lives. She couldn't just ignore Tracy and her other friends, but she couldn't ignore the Malfoys either. It was a very stressful and annoying situation.

* * *

Tracy walked into the Ravenclaw common room that evening after her advanced transfiguration class to find her best friend scribbling violently onto a piece of parchment.

"Homework already?" she asks curiously. She wouldn't be surprised if the answer was yes. McGonagall had assigned an essay for her to do already even though it was only the first day of classes. This was the girl's seventh and final year, which meant that they would have to take their N.E.W.T exams before they could graduate. The work load for seventh year students was supposed to be pretty hefty. Although things might be different now that you-know-who was in charge of the ministry.

"No, I'm just writing some letters" Danielle frowns as she adds a few explanation points at the end of her last sentence before signing her name, "One for my dad, one for my mom, and one for my _lovely_ fiancé." Tracy could hear the sarcasm drip off the word 'lovely.'

"You missing your future hubby already?" she asks with a mischievous grin.

"No," Danielle states calmly as she folds up the letter and stuffs it into an envelope, "But, I think the little sneak stole my game boy! I can't find it anywhere." Tracy laughs. "It's not funny!" Danielle folds her arms as she tries to suppress a small grin, "I'm seriously so close to beating Ash!"

"The richest boy in the country, and he can't buy his own game boy," Tracy shakes her head in amusement. "You want to take those letters to the owlry on the way to dinner? I'll come with you."

"Yeah," Danielle agrees. She scoops up her letters off the table before following her friend out into the hallway.

"You know," Tracy looks over to her friend with her eyebrows raised, "It wouldn't be weird if you DID miss him."

"What?" Danielle turns to her friend warily. She didn't want to think about Draco in anything but objective terms. Now that she was away from the manor, Danielle wanted to separate herself from it and its inhabitants emotionally. She had to worry about her friends and her little sister now. Being there for Draco had been more of an act of duty than an act of friendship. Danielle had done all she could for the Slytherin boy, now it was time to move on.

"You spent over three months alone in your bedroom with the guy" Tracy then points out while giving her friend a pointed look, "He was the only one you had to talk to and interact with. You must have formed some sort of, you know, attachment to him." Danielle widens her eyes.

"Are you implying that I have a crush on Draco Malfoy?" She asks in shock, "After everything he's done to me, my family, and Ron, Hermione, and Harry?"

"Haven't you ever heard of the Stockholm syndrome?" Tracy asks, ignoring her friend's words. "It's where a hostage starts to have positive feelings for their captor."

"Draco was not my captor!" Danielle says defensively, "I chose to go there. And, so what if he was in my room alone with me! I stayed professional the whole time!" Tracy burst out laughing then making Danielle feel a bit embarrassed.

"Professional?" Tracy asks through her giggles, "Really? You taught him how to play muggle video games!"

"Yeah! But there was no touchy feely googley eyed nonsense!" Danielle claims, "We were civil to each other! That was the extent of it!"

"Well then, you're no fun" Tracy declares with a sly grin.

"Excuse me for not wanting to have a summer fling with my prejudiced, pain in the butt, spawn of a death eater, fiancé," Danielle states, "I'm trying to convince the Malfoys that I _don't_ want to be with their son."

"I guess when you put it that way it is a little awkward," Tracy admits.

"What do you two think you're doing?" The two girls turned around to see Filtch, the school's caretaker who annoyed everyone by prowling around the school looking for trouble makers with his pet cat.

"Going to the Owlry," Tracy tells him honestly.

"Well, you know the rules," Filtch grins victoriously, "No students in the halls unless they are going to the great hall or to class."

"We were going to go down to dinner just as soon as we mailed our letters," Tracy frowns.

"Detours aren't allowed either," Filtch tells them.

"If nobody is allowed to the Owlry, how are students supposed to send their mail?" Danielle challenges.

"I suppose you'll have to ask Headmaster Snape after he gives you your punishment," the stringy haired old man was so thrilled that he was practically shaking with excitement. Danielle hated when people call Snape the Headmaster. It gave her a pang of guilt every time she heard it. If it weren't for her helping Draco with the cabinet the previous year, perhaps Dumbledore would still be alive to hold the title and Hogwarts wouldn't be such a miserable place.

"Can't you just let us off with a warning this time?" Tracy asks hopefully, "We didn't know that the owlry was forbidden."

"I'm afraid not," Filtch continues to grin, "You two were also talking in the halls which is another violation of the new rules." Danielle can't help but roll her eyes in irritation. She had no desire to be in Snape's presence, and she definitely didn't feel like becoming acquainted with the Carrows, who they would certainly be sent to for their punishment.

"Well, then why don't you take us to Professor Flitwick?" Danielle suggests, "He's our head of house. I'm sure Snape wouldn't want to waste his time dealing with something like this."

"The girl is quite right Argus," Professor McGonagall comes strolling up now looking strict. "The new headmaster already has his hands full without having to deal with every single rule breaker. I shall take these two to Flitwick's office, and you can continue with your patrol." Filtch looked like he wanted to argue, but there had been a finality to what McGonagall said that kept him silent. He sent a dirty look to Danielle and Tracy before hobbling away in a huff.

"Sorry Professor," Tracy tells McGonagall seriously, "I honestly didn't think going to the owlry was a big deal."

"Nonsense," the transfiguration professor waves her off, "It was an understandable mistake. Professor Snape's office has been swamped today with all the people Mr. Filtch has sent up. I've been trying to keep an eye out to warn students before they are caught talking or going to the library or whatever else. It is going to be hard for all of us to adjust to these new rules. But, we have to try."

"Of course," Tracy agrees quickly even though she knew she'd be breaking worse rules soon once Dumbledore's army started meeting up.

"So, does that mean that I can't send my mail?" Danielle asks feeling a little goofy asking.

"I don't think it would be wise," was McGonagall's honest reply. Danielle lets out a sigh.

"Darn," She says, "I just wanted to let my parents know that I'm back at Hogwarts."

"She hasn't had any contact with her parents since the end of last school year Professor," Tracy adds on, "The Malfoys made her stay at their manor over summer break and didn't allow her to have contact with any of her friends or family."

"Oh yes, that's right" McGonagall looks curiously at Danielle, "You're engaged to the Malfoy boy."

"Not by choice," Danielle states quickly.

"I noticed Mr. Malfoy hasn't returned with you to Hogwarts," the professor repeats Snape's words from the previous day about Abby, "Does he think himself above the new law?"

"They wouldn't let him come back," Danielle tells the woman hesitantly. She felt a little odd being questioned in this way.

"They?" McGonagall pushed and suddenly Danielle remembers that the head of Gryffindor house was a member of the order of the phoenix. She was probably trying to get information from Danielle.

"Well, you-know-who" Danielle says quietly hoping that this would show McGonagall that she could be trusted, "and the other death eaters. They're using the Malfoy's home for their meetings. Draco's parents knew what the school was going to be like this year. They helped plan it. And because of that, they sort of are above the law."

"Thank you, Ms. Emmings" Mcgonagall holds out her hand, "I'll send out your letters for you this time in order to put your parent's minds at ease, but I trust that you know that I won't be able to do so again."

"Thank you," Danielle says appreciatively, and gives her the envelopes addressed to her mother and father. She held back from giving her the one for Draco. She didn't know what McGonagall would think about it. "The letters aren't very long. I know that sending information in the mail isn't safe. I just told them that I was back at Hogwarts, and that they shouldn't write me back."

"Very good," The professor nods her head, "now head on down to dinner you two. And don't give Filtch or Snape the satisfaction of catching you breaking the rules again." Tracy and Danielle nod their heads in understanding before thanking the woman once again. McGonagall then turns away and leaves the two to walk silently down to the great hall.


	47. Part Two: Chapter Fifteen

Part Two: Chapter Fifteen

"Why didn't you give McGonagall the letter you wrote to Draco?" Tracy asks Danielle the next day as they hang out in the Ravenclaw common room doing homework before lunch. Danielle lets out an exasperated sigh.

"What would she have thought if she saw that I was sending out a letter to a death eater?" Danielle asks seriously. "She already seemed sort of suspicious of me."

"You reassured her though by telling her the stuff about Malfoy Manor. And, I just thought Draco would have liked to hear from you," Tracy shrugs, "to know that you're still thinking about him."

"I'm not still thinking about him," Danielle declares with a frown.

"You were writing a letter to him," Tracy points out.

"Because he stole my game boy," was the irritated response.

"Well perhaps he was worried that you would stop thinking about him, and knew if he took your game he'd keep your attention," Tracy suggests. She knew that people grew closer in challenging or desperate times. Danielle had been dependent on Draco just as much as he had been dependent on her during her stay at Malfoy Manor. Tracy found it hard to believe that Danielle could just shut him out after all of that.

"Or maybe he's just a selfish Slytherin who needed a way to entertain himself after I left," Danielle argues. She didn't know why Tracy kept pushing this subject. It was frustrating. Danielle knew that if she thought about Draco too much, she would start to worry about him and maybe even miss him. She didn't want that. That would be scary.

"Hello," the two girls were saved from having to continue their discussion by Luna coming in from class. "I've just talked to Ginny."

"Great!" Tracy says excitedly before moving over on the couch to make room for the girl, "What did she say about the coins? Does she know how to use them?"

"Yes," Luna grins. "The coins are all connected using a protean charm. Simple really, I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

"Ok, cool" Tracy nods her head in thought, "So there isn't one master coin or anything. That's good. Did she come up with a day to meet?"

"She wants to wait a little while before we get everyone together," Luna explains, "Once the start of term excitement dies down we'll be able to get an idea of when and where the hallways are being patrolled. We'll have to figure out when the best time to sneak to the room of requirement will be."

"Good call," Tracy agrees. "You can just tell us when she decides on a day."

"She's going to make you a coin as soon as she can," Luna tells her, "Then you won't have to rely on anyone to tell you when the meetings are. Whenever she decides on a date, she'll put it on the coin and send it to the rest of us. The coins heat up when they receive a message, so you'll always know."

"Hermione really is brilliant," Danielle joins in now, "I can't believe she wasn't sorted into Ravenclaw."

"I miss her," Tracy suddenly states quietly.

"Me too," Danielle agrees, "Her, Ron, and Harry."

"I wonder where they are," Luna looks up in thought.

"There is no telling with those three," Danielle then lets out a small laugh and Luna and Tracy laugh too.

* * *

That night at dinner, Danielle, Luna, and Tracy were sitting together at the Ravenclaw table in silence when all of a sudden, Tracy nudged Danielle's arm.

"What?" Danielle mouths and Tracy nods her head toward the Gryffindor table. Danielle follows her gaze and is surprised to see her little sister sitting there with Ginny, Neville, and Seamus. Danielle couldn't believe that Snape had gotten her to Hogwarts so quickly. It was impossible to apparate, floo, or to use a port key to travel across such a great distance so taking a muggle airplane was necessary. Danielle wondered how everything had been worked out in only two days. Abby finally looks up and notices her sister and Tracy. The second year girl smiles back and waves at them. Danielle waves back but can't really muster a smile. She was thrilled to see her sister again after so long, but she wished it wasn't under these circumstances.

"Did you need something?" Danielle turns around to see Amycus Carrow. He was the brother of the two Carrow siblings. He was the death eater who was now teaching the defense against the dark arts class. Well, from what Danielle had heard from some of the younger Ravenclaw students who had already had classes with him, it was pretty much just the dark arts class now.

"Not from you," Danielle responds but regrets it instantly. The look on the man's face was murderous.

"What's your name?" He asks her loudly. People all over the great hall were looking up to see what the commotion was.

"Danielle," She answers through gritted teeth. She noticed Tracy giving her a look that clearly meant that she should not pick a fight with this guy.

"Danielle what?" Amycus snaps and Danielle frowns at the spit the flies out of his mouth. He looked to be foaming at the mouth like a rabid dog.

"Emmings," Danielle bites out as her thoughts wander to the wand tucked inside her robes.

"And who were you gesturing to, Ms. Emmings?" Amycus asks and Danielle's patience finally runs out. She wasn't about to sit here and get reprimanded for waving at her own sister. It was wrong.

"I wasn't GESTURING!" Danielle turns in her seat and meets the death eater's eyes boldly, "I was waving! I was trying to say hello to my little sister who I haven't seen in almost four months so quit breathing down my neck!"

"I think you need to learn some manners!" The death eater snarls back furiously. He grabs Danielle by the arm and yanks her up off her seat. It hurt, but Danielle refused to wince. Besides, this was nothing compared to the cruciatus curse that she would probably be subjected to for talking back to a death eater professor.

"Aye! What do you think you're doing?" Blaise Zabini's voice echoed through the silent great hall now. He had just stood up from the Slytherin table and was pointing at Amycus accusingly, "That's Draco Malfoy's fiancé!" Amycus' lip curled in irritation as he looked down at the ring on Danielle's finger. He let out a growl before harshly shoving her back down into her seat.

"The Malfoy's really have sunken low haven't they?" Amycus glares at Danielle with pure disgust. "You'd better learn to hold your tongue Ms. Emmings. Your attitude isn't going to do you or Malfoy junior any good."

Tracy let out a relieved sigh as soon as the man walked away. She obviously had been worried about her friend. Danielle had a strange urge to laugh even though the situation was anything but humorous. It was just that she was so surprised by everything that had just happened. Was giving someone a small wave really worth Amycus getting so angry? And, why had Blaise stood up for her? Danielle was not friends with him. She wasn't even really acquainted with him. She only knew him as the dark skinned, Slytherin boy, who had been Tracy's potions partner last year. She knew that he was a bit more tolerable than the rest of the kids in his house, but that didn't explain why he had risked receiving punishment to help her. She had to figure out why he had done it.

Danielle then looked back over to the Gryffindor table. Her sister was looking scared and confused. It made Danielle angry that Abby even had to be there. She looked then to Ginny, Neville, and Seamus. The latter was looking at her in disappointment. Seamus was obviously displeased with her associations with Slytherins and death eaters. Neville and Ginny seem to give Danielle the benefit of the doubt though. They give their Ravenclaw friend a nod which Danielle takes as a promise from them to watch out for Abby. Danielle felt better knowing that her sister would have friends in Gryffindor with her. Hopefully the little girl could make it though the year without too much trouble.

* * *

"OH MY GOSH!" Tracy's frantic voice suddenly breaks through the quiet chit chat and ruffling of papers that was usually heard inside the Ravenclaw common room. Danielle jumped up immediately feeling panicked. She was on the other side of the room so she wasn't sure what had caused her friend to freak out.

"What?! What is it?" Danielle asks; abandoning her game of exploding snap that she had been playing with Luna to go and see what was wrong with Tracy. She was surprised to see her friend's eyes filled with unshed tears looking over a copy of the daily prophet. While all other sending and receiving of mail had been banned, the daily prophet was still delivered to Hogwarts each day. It was, after all, the tool in which the ministry was using to brainwash the public.

"Why are you even reading that?" Danielle asks sounding a little annoyed. "You know it's just a bunch of lies."

"Unless the truth actually helps the ministry," Tracy finally looks away from the paper and turns to Danielle with a watery smile, "Look." Danielle takes the offered paper and gasps at the headline.

"Undesirable number one breaches security at the Ministry of Magic; further proof that Potter is a public enemy," she reads out in disgust before looking up at Tracy. "Harry broke into the ministry?"

"That's what it says," Tracy nods. Danielle shakes her head in disbelief before continuing to read from the paper.

"Potter and his two accomplices brutally attacked three ministry workers (Albert Runcorn, Reginald Cattermole, and Mafalda Hopkirk) yesterday morning, leaving them unconscious and abandoned in an alleyway near the employee entrance to the ministry of magic. We now know that the three used polyjuice potion containing hairs from their victims to enter the building undetected to break out nearly a dozen muggleborns who had been convicted of magic theft. While this act alone is enough to send Potter to Azkaban, it should also be noted that he is now known to be traveling with Hermione Granger (a muggleborn who has refused to come into the ministry to be interviewed by the new muggleborn registration commission) and Ronald Weasley (a 17 year old pureblood who should be well into his seventh year of schooling right now under the new Hogwarts mandatory attendance law). Unfortunately, the three criminals managed to escape arrest so we urge the public to keep their eyes and ears open, and to inform the ministry about any information that might be useful in the capture of these menaces to our society." Danielle handed the paper back to Tracy then feeling shocked.

"At least they got away," Luna says cheerfully, "It was great of them to save those muggleborns."

"Yeah," Danielle frowns, "But breaking into the ministry of magic was a bit risky just to save a handful of people. Don't get me wrong, what the ministry is doing to muggleborns makes me sick, but if Harry had been caught it would have meant victory for you-know-who."

"You're right," Tracy nods, "which is why I'm positive that they went in for some other reason." Ron, Hermione, and Harry must have realized somehow that there was a horcrux, or some sort of information about the horcruxes in the ministry of magic.

"You think breaking into the ministry had something to do with the job Dumbledore gave Harry?" Danielle asks curiously. She didn't know all the details about the job, but she knew it was important in ending the war.

"Yes," Tracy confirms, "if it didn't, they would have never tried something so dangerous."

"How do you think this will impact the rest of Ron's family?" Danielle then asks worriedly, "Mr. Weasley works in the ministry doesn't he? They aren't going to let him stay now, surely. And they'll probably want to question them all for information now."

"I never thought of that! And, what about Hermione's parents?" Luna asks looking concerned, "They're muggles. They'll have no way to protect themselves against the death eaters."

"Hermione's parents will be fine," Tracy reassures the girl, "Hermione took care of them before she left. She modified their memories and sent them abroad so that nobody would be able to find them."

"The girl's brilliant," Danielle declares, "Never overlooks a thing. What about the Weasley's though?"

"They're not stupid either," Tracy says seriously, "They'll realize the danger that this publicity will bring them. They'll find somewhere safe to go. They were already looking for a place while I was there over the summer anyway."

"Good," Luna replies.

"But what about Ginny?" Danielle then brings up, "She can't really escape the ministry's questioning. What if they come to the school for her?"

"She has Seamus and Neville to look out for her," Luna points out, "And if she needs our help, she'd send out a message on the coin."

"Right," Tracy states with a sigh. She was glad to finally have some news about Harry and the others. It was great to know that they were still alive and that they had been able to safely get away after breaking into the ministry of magic. It was also good to know that they seemed to be making some progress in their search for the horcruxes. Tracy just didn't like how much drama this new development had stirred up. She hoped that the Weasley's would be able to pull through this new incident without any problems, and she hoped that the witches and wizards in England could see through the lies being fed to them by you-know-who himself.

* * *

**Is it just me or has there been a lot less people on this site these past few days? *shrugs* I don't know. Anywho, I really hope you guys liked this chapter! What do you think of Blaise standing up to defend Danielle? And what did you think of her getting attitude with Amycus in the first place? Don't be shy about sending me your ideas or predictions! I love to hear them!**


	48. Part Two: Chapter Sixteen

**Hey guys, I just wanted to thank you for all the reviews. I'm enjoying all the positive feedback :) Some people have been asking for more 'lovey' stuff between Draco and Danielle though so here is the deal. I feel kind of bad that the "love" stuff isn't going as quickly as you all want it to (and I'm eager for you all to see them when they are closer as well), but I wrote this story wanting their relationship to be realistic. Draco started out hating Danielle with every fiber of his being and said and did a lot of nasty things to her. Yes, he's starting to see her differently but I think he's really just confused about her right now. He's still getting used to the fact that she isn't as horrible as he thought, and the fact that he can trust her is amazing, but new and scary to him. I don't think he even has 'love' on the mind yet. And Danielle is even more unsure of what's going on between them than Draco. She knows he isn't all bad, but she doesn't know if she can completely trust him yet. She wants to be his friend, but is afraid that he'll end up hurting her or betraying her once he no longer needs her. That's why she gets so defensive with Tracy asks her about Draco. So, trust me when I say that things will progress, but know that it might take a while. I really do believe taking it slow like this makes it all the more worth it when 'lovey' moments happen anyway. I hope you all will agree, and I hope that the other things happening in the story keep you interested while the love plot unfolds. (Sorry this is so long!) Here's the next chapter!**

Part Two: Chapter Sixteen

A few days later, Danielle found herself out in one of the Hogwarts Greenhouses for her Herbology class. She had decided fairly early on that she wanted to be a healer, and Herbology was a required course for anyone pursuing such a career. Only a handful of students were in this class since most seventh year students had chosen career paths that did not require them to have a broad knowledge of plants and their uses.

"Did you know that a lot of muggle spices and plants are used in magical potions?" Neville asks Danielle as they sort through several samples of plant leaves, roots, and soils that Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff house, had given them to identify and describe so that she could assess their understanding before deciding exactly what she would have them work on over the course of the year. Danielle had been surprised when she found that Neville would be in her class. He wanted to be an Auror after graduation like his parents had been, and Herbology wasn't required for him. He apparently had a huge passion for the subject though, and Professor Sprout loved him. "Ginger is used in several different wit-improving potions."

"Nobody cares Longbottom," the irritating voice of Pansy Parkinson breaks in.

"I care," Danielle tells Neville, "and you're right. Ginger is extremely useful. It's great at clamming up the digestive system which is why ginger tea is usually given to people with upset stomachs."

"Very good," Professor Sprout says after overhearing the conversation, "five points to both Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Ms. Parkinson do you know any other properties of Ginger?"

"No," The girl says irritably and the professor frowns.

"My dad always keeps ginger in stock in his shops," Danielle tells Neville, "a lot of people use it to treat arthritis pain and even heart conditions."

"I didn't know that!" Neville looks at Danielle in awe.

"It's true," Professor Sprout confirms before looking back to Pansy and pointing to a set of large leaves laid out on the greenhouse table, "Perhaps you'll know what these are then. We never talked about Ginger in the introductory classes, but I know we went over these."

"I don't remember," Pansy folds her arms causing Professor Sprout to let out a sigh.

"Longbottom?" She says.

"Those leaves are from a mandrake plant," he answers easily, "You used the roots in our second year to heal the students who were petrified when the chamber of secrets was opened."

"Correct, 5 more points to Gryffindor," the professor smiles.

"I know what that one is!" Pansy then snaps as she points to a thick black plant covered in shiny protrusions, "It's a Bubotuber! Its salve is used to treat acne!"

"Well, it's more like pus than a salve" Professor Sprout corrects with a little smile, "But you're right. Five points to Slytherin." Danielle wasn't surprised that the one thing Pansy did know had to do with beauty and skin care.

"Why are you even in this class?" she asks the Slytherin girl after the teacher walked away.

"I heard the N.E.W.T exam for this class was one of the easiest," Pansy sneers, "And as I don't plan on working after graduation, exams aren't really that important. Apparently you're thinking along the same lines, Emmings. I thought you weren't interested in living comfortably under the Malfoy fortune."

"I'm not taking Herbology because it's easy," Danielle frowns, "And I've told you a million times that I do not care about Draco's money or status. I don't want to marry him."

"You're such a liar," Pansy glares over at her Ravenclaw rival, "I still don't understand why the Malfoys chose you for Draco. And the way Zabini acted the other day; why he stood up for you I'll never know. He should have just left you to suffer the consequences of your disrespectful behavior."

"My disrespectful behavior," Danielle repeats indignantly, "I waved to my sister."

"And then yelled at a teacher," Pansy challenges.

"A death eater," Danielle corrects.

"Your superior, in any case" was the retort.

"Unbelievable," Danielle shakes her head and turns back to her work. She didn't want to argue with Pansy. First off, Pansy was not worth arguing with. Her logic was all twisted because of the way her parents had raised her, and she couldn't keep up in an argument anyway. Her brain didn't move fast enough. And what was more, Danielle didn't feel like getting in trouble with Professor Sprout. Contrary to what Pansy had said, Danielle had heard that the Herbology N.E.W.T exam was extremely difficult. There were literally hundreds of plants that she would have to be able to identify and describe by the end of the year. Professor Sprout was the one who would be preparing Danielle for this exam, so getting on her bad side was probably a bad idea.

* * *

When Danielle and Tracy had to walk down to the dungeons for their advanced potions class for the first time since the previous year, it was strange. First of all, Snape was no longer teaching the subject since he was Headmaster now; a man named Slughorn was. And second, Danielle felt weird being there without Draco, who had been her potions partner the year before.

"Where do you want to sit?" Tracy asks her friend. Danielle looks around the room and catches the eye of Blaise Zabini. Slughorn wasn't in the room yet, and Danielle thought this was the perfect opportunity to figure out what had happened in the great hall before.

"Anywhere is fine," Danielle tells Tracy with a shrug, "I'll be right back." She walks away from her friend and slides into the empty spot next to Blaise who looked a little unsure of what to make of her behavior.

"Hello," she says to him. Blaise turns and looks at her curiously.

"Hi?" He questions.

"I just wanted to thank you, for what you did the other day," Danielle decides to come right out and say it. Blaise leans a bit away from her then as if to get a better look at her, as if she confused him by showing her gratitude so openly.

"Ok." was the delayed reply.

"Ok," Danielle echoes with a frown, "Why did you do it?"

"I was told that Theo already explained it to you," Blaise states with a tilt of his head. Danielle turned in her chair to look up at Theodore Nott who was sitting a few rows behind her. He noticed her eyes on him almost instantly and sends an evil glare her way. Danielle sticks her tongue out at him just to be annoying before turning back to Blaise.

"Are you guys stalking me or something?" Danielle asks as she tries to recall what Nott had said in Charms class the week before. She remembered him saying they were keeping an eye on her, but between him calling her a mudblood lover and talking about his desire to send muggleborns to the dementors, it hadn't really sounded like it was in a friendly way.

"Is that what Theo told you we were doing?" Blaise asks, "Stalking you?"

"I guess he isn't that great at relaying messages," Danielle waves her hand with a small smile, "Perhaps you should have sent Crabbe and Goyle to tell me, or have they been trained to only take orders from Draco?" Blaise completely surprises Danielle by letting a laugh escape from his lips which had spread into a large handsome smile. The same smile that Draco had made fun of her for noticing at the Malfoy Christmas Eve party the year before. Oddly enough, they had been discussing the stupidity of the two brainless oafs that insisted on following Draco around and obeying his every order that night as well.

"Those two are even more useless than Nott," Blaise tells her after a second; "I guess if you want something done right you have to do it yourself, right?"

"Usually," Danielle agrees.

"Alright, well, we've basically been instructed to keep an eye on you." Blaise tells her. His serious face was back in place now.

"Sooooo stalking me?" Danielle repeats with a small grin. The comment amuses Blaise, but he only gives the Ravenclaw girl a smirk this time.

"We're supposed to make sure you don't get yourself into trouble or something," He explains. "Of course, I thought that meant you might piss someone off on accident. I didn't know you were going to go out of your way to push your luck with the Carrows."

"He was out of line for yelling at me like that," Danielle defends herself. "I wasn't breaking any of Snape's new rules or anything! He took a simple meaningless thing and blew it out of proportion." Blaise raises his eyebrows at the girl's rant, looking almost impressed.

"You do know he's a death eater right?" He asks her.

"And that gives him the right to be a domineering tyrant?" Danielle asks sarcastically, "You know what I think? I think death eaters have to bully others to make themselves feel better about being disempowered slaves to you-know-who. I still can't believe some purebloods act all high and mighty and then turn around and bow at that psycho's feet. It's outrageous and hypocritical!" By the end of the rant, Blaise was grinning from ear to ear again. Apparently he was entertained.

"I hope Draco's mom remembers to send me an invitation to your wedding," He finally says, "Because I want a front row seat to that!"

"What?" Danielle's face flushes red in confusion, "I'm not really marrying Draco!" Blaise reaches over and takes Danielle's left hand into his.

"This would suggest otherwise;" He quirks an eyebrow as he points to the ring. Danielle pulls her hand away quickly.

"It's stuck on my finger with magic, only Draco can take it off," she tells him.

"Yet, he hasn't" Blaise says with an innocent shrug.

"His parents planned this whole thing. They'd be furious with Draco if he took the ring off against their wishes," Danielle frowns.

"I know," Blaise says with a laugh.

"Then why did you… nevermind," Danielle doesn't know what to make of Blaise's odd behavior but decides she doesn't have time to question it now because Professor Slughorn had just entered the room. "Who was it that asked you to keep an eye on me anyway?" She asks quickly.

"I think you know the answer to that," Was the reply.

"Well, I know it had to have been the Malfoys" Danielle says, "But I didn't know if perhaps they had been given orders from … someone else to watch me or what."

"I doubt you-know-who cares about what you do," Blaise tells her seriously, "but if he did, I'm sure it would have been Snape and the Carrows doing the_ stalking_ instead of me."

"So, you have to make sure I don't embarrass the Malfoy name?" Danielle asks, smiling a little at Blaise using the word "stalk".

"I didn't say that," Blaise crosses his arms, "I said I had to make sure you didn't get into trouble."

"The Malfoy's don't care about _my_ well being though," Danielle tells him seriously.

"I think one of them might," Blaise tells her.

"What do you mean?" Danielle feels a little taken aback by that statement. She knew which Malfoy Blaise was referring to, but she didn't know how serious his insinuation was. Did Draco really care that much about Danielle to go out of his way to ask his classmates to protect her? It was more believable that Draco would ask them to make sure she behaved and acted the way she was supposed to. That would explain why Theodore Nott had told her off for hanging around with Tracy, and making that comment about how Danielle always needed to be reminded of how unworthy she was. Blaise's comments were just confusing her.

"Are you really going to sit here and pester me all hour?" Blaise sighs then. "You better hope we aren't stuck as partners. I'm not as good at potions as Draco."

"That isn't what Tracy told me," Danielle tells him as she quietly slips out of her seat, "But thanks again." Blaise merely nods his head in understanding. Danielle nods back and quickly goes over to sit next to Tracy so that Slughorn could start class.


	49. Part Two: Chapter Seventeen

Part Two: Chapter Seventeen

"Not a bad turn out," Danielle states as her and Tracy enter the room of requirement. Ginny had finally decided that it was safe to send out a message to everyone on the coins so that they could all meet up. Danielle couldn't believe how different the room of requirement was now. When she had worked on the vanishing cabinet with Draco, the room had been a giant maze of useless garbage. Now, the room was still fairly large, but it was clean, open, and brighter.

"There used to be even more," Neville tells her as he welcomes her in, "Like Fred and George Weasley and a few other older students that have graduated."

"Some were also unable to come back to school this year because they are muggleborn or suspected of being muggleborn," Ginny adds sadly, "But at least we still have a decent amount of people remaining."

"That's right. Now, let's get to the introductions then shall we?" Neville asks excitedly as he points around the room at random people, "That girl's name is Hannah Abbot, she's a Hufflepuff. Next to her, that's Ernie Macmillan; also a Hufflepuff. Over there are the Patil twins. Parvati is in Gryffindor, and Padma is in Ravenclaw like you guys."

"I remember her," Tracy smiles and waves to the girl, "She's in my transfiguration class."

"Right," Neville nods, "And those two guys in the corner are in Ravenclaw as well; Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein. You guys already know Me, Luna, Ginny, and Cho."

"And here comes Seamus," Ginny points over to the door where the Irish Gryffindor was strolling in with Danielle's little sister close behind.

"Abby!" Danielle smiles and rushes toward her sister in relief. For the past couple weeks, Danielle could do nothing but glance over at her sister during meals to make sure she was okay. Now, they could finally talk to each other after four months.

"Hi!" the 12 year old freckle faced girl beams, "I can't believe I actually get to see and talk to you! I feel like it's been forever!"

"It has been forever," Danielle lets out a laugh as she puts her hands on her sister's shoulders just to make sure it was really her, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," The girl says, "glad to be out of Mom's huge mansion."

"How are mom and dad?" Danielle questions.

"Worried sick about you," Abby says seriously. "They were a little annoyed at first when they didn't hear from you, and the Malfoys didn't send us anything while you were gone either. We had no idea if you were okay or not. Mom and Dad tried a few times to send some letters but it was useless. Nobody responded."

"I didn't get any of your letters! The Malfoy's must have kept them from me" Danielle gasps as anger at Draco's parents bubbles up inside her, "They didn't let me send anything to you guys either!"

"We sort of figured that was what happened," Abby nods her head, "But now mom and dad are even angrier because Snape made me come back here."

"We were all upset about that," Tracy joins in now.

"That reminds me!" Abby then turns back to her sister, "I can't believe you stood up to that Carrow guy! You're so brave! Maybe you should have been in Gryffindor after all!"

"Or maybe she should have been in Slytherin!" Seamus' Irish accent cuts into the conversation, "you seem to be getting pretty friendly with them after all; why else would Zabini have done what he did?"

"I'm not friends with him," Danielle tries not to sound annoyed. "But, even if I was, I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that he's a Slytherin! His parents are probably death eaters! And, he's friends with Malfoy; who you claim to hate!" Seamus points out. Several of the DA members were looking over now to see what the heated discussion was about.

"Not all Slytherins are evil," Danielle replies as calmly as possible. She wanted to tell him that she didn't hate Draco anymore, but that might not look too good to the rest of the group. "In fact, it was quite heroic of Blaise to stand up for me so that I didn't end up on the receiving end of an unforgivable curse."

"You know as well as I do that he didn't help you out of the goodness out of his heart," Seamus lets out a sarcastic laugh. "He probably thought he'd gain points with those idiots because of the ring on your finger."

"Those idiots?" Danielle presses, "What do you mean by that?"

"I don't know; the other Slytherins maybe? The Malfoys? Or perhaps the death eaters? Take your pick!"

"And what does the ring on my finger have to do with the death eaters?" Danielle asks irritably.

"You're obviously in with them," Seamus states confidently.

"You think I'm in with the death eaters?" Danielle folds her arms to keep herself from reaching for her wand. Seamus was hurting her feelings with all his accusations, but she couldn't hex him because everyone in the DA was now watching the argument intently. Many of them Danielle had never spoken to before and she didn't want their first impressions of her to be like this. "The Carrow brother didn't even know who I was until Blaise said something. And that death eater on the train made it quite clear that he wouldn't hesitate to torture and kill me if the opportunity presented itself!"

"Fine, but you're in with the Malfoys; which is basically the same thing!" Seamus claims.

"The Malfoys blackmailed my family and then locked me up in a room for three and a half months!" Danielle raises her voice now, "They forced me into an engagement that I couldn't even fight unless I wanted to put my whole family in danger! Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy are terrible people with horrible beliefs and I am most certainly not IN with them!"

"If they're so horrible than why did you defend Zabini a second ago?" Seamus asks accusingly, "You didn't have any objections when he associated you with the Malfoys."

"I defended Blaise because he saved me! He isn't a death eater, and neither are his parents! Yes, he announced to the great hall that I was associated with the Malfoys, but if he hadn't, who knows if I'd even be standing here right now!"

"Ok stop!" Ginny snaps as she pushes her way in between Danielle and Seamus, "This meeting is about fighting off the death eaters! Not each other!" Danielle looked down at her feet then, feeling bad for disrupting the meeting. Seamus looked a little embarrassed as well. Ginny reaches into her robes and pulls out two golden coins and hands them to Tracy and Danielle. "Don't lose those," She says before moving to the front of the room so that she could address the group. "Alright, so we all know why we're here! Snape and the Carrows have taken over Hogwarts… and I think it's about time that we try and take it back!" The whole room erupted into cheers of agreement. Danielle looked down at her coin and clenched it in her fist. She felt proud to finally be a part of something that didn't look so suspicious. A small part of her though wondered if she deserved to be in Dumbledore's army. After all, the great wizard had died last year after the death eaters broke into Hogwarts using the vanishing cabinet that _she_ had fixed. Sure, Snape was the one that had cast the killing curse, and he had been in the school anyway, but Danielle still could not shake the guilt. She just hoped that joining the DA would help her forgive herself.

* * *

"Please note that there are four different branches of transfiguration," Professor McGonagall paces back and forth around her classroom as she lectures, "Can anybody name them all?" Tracy's arm shoots into the air. "Yes, Ms. Ross."

"Transfiguration, Vanishment, Conjuration, and Untransfiguration," Tracy recites.

"That's right; ten points to Ravenclaw" The professor nods, "Up until now you've all been exposed to mostly just Transfiguration and a little bit of Vanishment. Those branches of the subject are easiest. For your N.E.W.T exams, however, you will be expected to know how to do transfiguration, vanishment, and conjuration charms. Since Conjuration is pretty difficult, I'd like to get started on it right away. Who can tell me what a conjuration spell does?" Tracy's hand goes up again, but McGonagall calls on the only other person who had volunteered to answer; Blaise Zabini.

"A conjuration spell brings something into being," Blaise sends an arrogant smirk over at Tracy who just shakes her head in amusement. She still couldn't believe that the Slytherin boy was taking an N.E.W.T level transfiguration class. It was one of the most difficult classes a Hogwarts student could take, "you basically make something appear out of thin air."

"That's right, Slytherin can take 10 points for that" McGonagall says approvingly, "Of course, there are some restrictions to conjurations spells such as… yes Ms. Ross?" Tracy figured she'd play along with Blaise's little game. Her hand had shot up in the middle of McGonagall's sentence at almost the same moment as Blaise's.

"Objects created by conjuration spells cannot last indefinitely," She states.

"Yes, 5 more points to Ravenclaw" McGonagall's strict face almost showed a hint of a smile when Blaise's hand stayed in the air, "You have something to add, Mr. Zabini?"

"Yes Professor," Blaise says, "Conjuration spells are also restricted by Gamp's law of elemental transfiguration which says that certain things, like food, cannot be conjured."

"Very good!" McGonagall looked impressed, "another 5 points for Slytherin. But, moving on, the first conjuration spell that well will be learning is Aguamenti, which produces water. As you can see, I've provided each of you with a glass bowl. I'd like you all to take some time to practice this spell, as it is one of the easiest to do and will give you a good foundation for more advanced spells." As Tracy prepares to get to work, Blaise gets up from his seat and moves over to sit next to her.

"Was there a reason for your sudden competitiveness?" She asks him as she pushes one of the bowls over to him.

"I was getting bored with you being the only one speaking up and taking all the house points," Blaise tells her with a little laugh.

"Is that your way of calling me a know-it-all?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Not at all," Blaise smiles, "I just thought it would be must more exciting for both of us if you weren't winning them by default. Plus, irritating you amuses me, which is why I moved over here."

"You and your need for excitement," Tracy shakes her head, "With all these new rules and people around the school, you must be having a blast this year."

"Is that your way of calling me a death eater supporter?" Blaise raises his eyebrows and Tracy actually blushes with embarrassment.

"No," She says seriously before turning to her glass bowl, "Aguamenti!" The bowl filled up with water and she looked back to Blaise, "I'm sorry if I offended you."

"Aguamenti!" Blaise waves his wand at his bowl which also filled up instantly. He turned to Tracy afterwards, "You didn't."

"Was that your first time doing that spell?" Tracy can't help but ask. She noticed that Blaise hadn't confirmed or denied being a death eater supporter.

"I'm tempted to say yes just to shock you, but that would be a lie" He grins and Tracy laughs. It would be extremely impressive if he'd have gotten the spell on his first try. She had actually started practicing spells for the N.E.W.T exams over the summer a little bit, and apparently Blaise had as well.

"So, what are you doing with your life that requires you to get a N.E.W.T in transfiguration?" Tracy asks the boy as they continue to fill their bowls with water.

"I'm aiming high," Blaise replies, "My goal is to one day be a member of the international confederation of wizards." Tracy turns to look at him in shock.

"Really?" she asks.

"Really," He nods, "the wizarding community here in Great Britain is starting to bore me. I think it would be cool to meet and work with different sorts of people from different places every day."

"That does sound interesting," Tracy admits.

"It'll be awhile before I can get there," Blaise frowns, "I'll probably have to work my way through the ministry before I can go international. I hate the ministry though; always have."

"Our ministry back in the states isn't so bad," Tracy shrugs, "Maybe you should move there after graduation. I heard the Italian ministry is pretty good too."

"That's not a bad idea Ross," Blaise looks up in thought. "It's hard though, uprooting a pureblood family like mine. No conceit intended. I'm just being real. My family's lived in a mansion up in Manchester for decades."

"That sounds pretty _boring_," Tracy smiles, "Perhaps it's time for you to spice things up. They've got mansions in other countries you know." Blaise laughs.

"You've got me there," He sighs as McGonagall comes over and gives them an approving nod. "So what about you; what are your big plans for the future? Big house in the states with a bunch of little Potters running around?" Tracy can't help but blush at his suggestion.

"Harry and I haven't really planned out a future," she explains sadly, "mostly we've been focusing on getting him through this war alive. But, as for me, I would like to have children at some point. Whether it's with Harry or not, only time will tell. Career wise, I think perhaps I'll end up in the U.S ministry; maybe in the department of magical law enforcement."

"Eh," Blaise shrugs, "I'd like to see you doing something more important than that. I want your name in history books as one of the best ministers of magic that ever existed, or as the next Albus Dumbledore or something."

"I thought that you believed the stuff about Dumbledore being nuts?" Tracy cocks an eyebrow. She secretly felt extremely flattered that Blaise held her in such high regard. She wasn't sure how to respond to the compliments though. He might make fun of her if she made a huge deal over his praise.

"You have to be a little nuts to be brilliant don't you?" Blaise challenges with a grin.

"Good point," Tracy agrees.

When class finally ended, Tracy couldn't help but ponder over Blaise as she made her way back to her common room. He certainly seemed different than any of the other members of his house. Tracy was dating Harry Potter, undesirable number one; a fact that caused most Slytherins to dislike her and belittle her from afar. But not Blaise, he had come over and sat next to her to engage her in lighthearted conversation. It was strange, to say the least. She hoped that Blaise was actually a good guy, and not just an especially sneaky one trying to trick her in some way.


	50. Part Two: Chapter Eighteen

Part Two: Chapter Eighteen

"And then she said that muggles are vicious, like animals, and that they are the reason witches and wizards have to hide their magic!" Abby was explaining her first muggle studies class to some of the people in the DA. It was now taught by Alecto Carrow, Amycus' sister. Danielle hated to see her sister so upset about what the death eater had told her. The prejudice back in the states against non-magical people wasn't as prominent as it was in Europe. Abby hadn't really been exposed to it much until now.

"It's not true," Neville pats Abby on the back. He and the other Gryffindors had already become attached to the girl, and treated her like their own sister. "Muggles aren't bad at all! You like Hermione right? Both her parents are muggles!"

"It's true Abbs," Ginny even had a pet name for Abby now. "My father loves muggles."

"Yeah! My dad IS a muggle!" Seamus furrows his eyebrows in anger. "This is ridiculous! We need to do something! I've had enough of this practicing in secret! I want to put it to use!"

Danielle and Seamus were no longer speaking to each other because of their argument at the first DA meeting. Danielle understood why he was upset with her though. He had packed up the courage to talk to her and try to get to know her the year before, and she had turned around and helped a death eater fulfill his duties to Voldemort. Of course, Seamus didn't know the details of that, but Danielle had spent a large amount of time the previous year with Draco, whom most people in the school despised. She'd also spent the summer at his house, allowing her to know certain death eaters personally and to be given special privileges because of her connection with the Malfoys. So yes, it did make sense that he would be a little irritated with her, but Danielle wished he would just try to understand her circumstances. He couldn't though. To Seamus, she had chosen a mean, terrible, Slytherin boy over him.

"Ginny and I have been discussing something," Tracy announces to the DA in response to Seamus' plea for action. "It's dangerous though, and I don't know what will happen to us if we're caught."

"What is it?" Cho asks curiously as murmurs of excitement spread through the group.

"At the beginning of the summer, the minister of magic came to my house before he was killed by the death eaters." Ginny explains, "He had come over because Dumbledore had left Harry a few things in his will."

"I didn't know Dumbledore was that close to Harry," Hannah Abbot from Hufflepuff gasps.

"They were very close," Tracy confirms, "Harry and Dumbledore worked together all last year to try to figure out a way to stop you-know-who."

"Were they successful?" Parvati, the twin from Gryffindor asks eagerly.

"Well, everything they did together was sort of kept a secret," Tracy answers honestly, "What I can tell you, is that Harry does have some idea of what he needs to do. And he's working on it right now."

"So what did Dumbledore leave him, then?" Cho questions anxiously.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," Ginny announces and gasps could be heard all around the room.

"The founder of Gryffindor house?" Seamus asks in shock, "I didn't know he had a sword."

"He did! I've read about it!" Terry Boot from Ravenclaw pipes in with a grin.

"Didn't Harry use it to kill the Basilisk in the chamber of secrets?" Parvati asks curiously.

"He did," Neville confirms before looking to Tracy and Ginny, "But why would Dumbledore leave the sword to Harry?"

"We think that the sword may be able to help Harry defeat you-know-who somehow," Tracy explains.

"But the sword belongs to the school," Terry Boot adds in again, "not Dumbledore."

"You're right," Tracy nods, "the minister told Harry that he couldn't have the sword for that exact reason."

"So, where is the sword now?" Padma, the twin from Ravenclaw asks in concern.

"We believe it's still hanging up in Dumbledore's old office," Tracy tells them all.

"So what's the plan?" Seamus asks.

"The plan," Ginny smirks, "is to go in and steal it."

The room immediately erupted into chaos. There was much to be discussed if this plan was actually going to work. Tracy hadn't been kidding when she told them all that it would be dangerous. It was not going to be easy breaking into Snape's office to get the sword. Everyone seemed eager to do it though, even knowing that the consequences could be severe if they were to get caught.

* * *

It was lunch time in the great hall and as always, everyone was completely silent. Danielle looked over at Tracy who was giving her a look that meant 'are you sure you should do this?' Danielle takes a deep breath before standing up on her seat and then stepping up onto the Ravenclaw table. People were immediately looking up at her like she was nuts. Whatever, the DA had decided that a distraction was needed in order to lure Snape and the Carrows away from the headmaster's office so that they could get the sword. Danielle had volunteered herself for two reasons. One, she wanted Ginny and the others to trust her more and two, she thought her engagement to Draco _might_ get her out of punishment again. Danielle tried not to think of how uncertain the world 'might' was.

"You again?" Amycus Carrow frowns and takes a few steps towards Danielle. Blaise met Danielle's eyes from over at the Slytherin table and he shook his head. Well, Danielle didn't even take orders from her own fiancé so what hope did Blaise really have? "What are you doing you stupid girl? Get down this instant!"

Danielle reached into her pocket to grab the instant darkness powder that Ginny had given her. It was something that Fred and George had invented for their joke shop. Danielle pulled the black rock out of her pocket and held it out in front of her. Amycus narrowed his eyes and Danielle saw his sister, Alecto, making her way over now. Danielle threw the rock on the ground then and the great hall was instantly filled with dark smoke. It was so thick and black that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.

Danielle jumped off the table and ran as fast as she could in the direction of the exit. She was glad when she found the handle and slipped out into the entrance hall without tripping and falling at all. Now that she was out in the entrance hall, Danielle held her wand up in the air and did a spell to create a loud explosion. Danielle heard Snape yell to the Carrows that Danielle was outside now. Danielle waited till she saw the Carrows and Snape coming out of the great hall before taking off again into the dungeons. She needed to get them as far away from the headmaster's office which was on the third floor as possible. They ran after her shouting at her to stop. She didn't, of course.

Meanwhile, in the great hall, Tracy and Luna were sneaking over to the Gryffindor table through the darkness. It took them a minute but they finally found Ginny and Neville. They decided that only the four of them should try to steal the sword. They didn't want to get anyone else in the DA in trouble if they didn't have to.

Tracy led the others toward the entrance of the great hall. The instant darkness powder was already fading so it was a bit easier to see. She pushed the door open a crack just in time to see Snape and the Carrows run after Danielle into the dungeons. She gestured for the others to follow her out. They go as quickly as possible to the gargoyle that marked the entrance to Snape's office.

"We don't know the password," Neville says once they get to their destination. "What do we do?"

"Slytherin!" Ginny says to the gargoyle but it doesn't budge. "Dark Lord! Death Eater! Half blood prince!" She rattles off several other possible passwords.

"We're wasting time," Luna says quietly as they continue looking up at the entrance.

"We're here to steal the sword of Godric Gryffindor!" Tracy suddenly says and to everyone's surprise the Gargoyle moves to allow them to pass.

"Sometimes I think this castle has a mind of its own," Ginny whispers to the others as they climb up the stairs.

Back in the dungeons, Danielle was running out of places to go. She knew Snape and the others would catch her eventually. It was part of the plan. Even if she did escape now, it wasn't as if she could leave Hogwarts.

"Professor Snape!"

Danielle swore under her breath as she turned around to see Pansy Parkinson running up. She had never been more annoyed with the Slytherin girl as she was now.

"That's HEADMASTER Snape," Alecto corrected her with a sneer.

"What is it Ms. Parkinson?" Snape asks sounding annoyed. "You know you are breaking the rules by being out of the great hall at this time."

"Ross, Longbottom, Lovegood, and the Weasley girl just broke into your office!" Pansy tells him before sending a victorious smirk over at Danielle who instantly knows she's in huge trouble. Snape lets out an irritated sigh before gesturing to the Carrows to follow him up to his office. Amycus flicks his wand at Danielle and her arms are instantly bound behind her. "You're coming with us," He says and grabs her by the shoulder to drag her along. They lead Danielle quickly out of the dungeons and up to the third floor just in time to see Tracy and the others emerge carrying the huge ruby encrusted sword.

"Going somewhere?" Snape says in his usual monotone. Danielle thought she heard a hint of amusement in his voice though. Wasn't he supposed to be angry or something? Alecto steps forward and snatches the sword out of Neville's hands.

"What were you planning on doing with this?" She snarls and points her wand between the four DA members.

"That sword doesn't belong to you!" Ginny yells and clutches her fist around her wand.

"I'll let the two of you deal with those four," Snape tells the Carrows as he gestures to Luna, Tracy, Neville, and Ginny. He then takes the sword for himself and points to Danielle. "You can come with me."

Another flick of his wand and Amycus had Tracy, Luna, Ginny, and Neville's hands bound behind their backs as well. "Let's take a walk." He sneers and proceeds to lead the four away with his sister in toe.

Snape waves his hand at Danielle, indicating that she should go into his office. Danielle knew it was best to do everything Snape told her to do at this point. She wondered what the Carrows were going to do to her friends, and why they were being punished separately.

"What were you thinking?" Snape snaps as soon as the door was shut. Danielle hadn't expected a question like that. It stumped her.

"I don't know?" she says it as a question.

"Oh really?" Snape frowns and steps closer to Danielle. "I think you were trying to distract me so that those other brats could get into my office."

"It does seem like that," Danielle nods as she tries to think of something to say, "but it was just a coincidence. Why would I ever help them?

"I'm not an idiot Ms. Emmings." Snape drones on. "Weasley, Longbottom, and Lovegood? All of them were members of Dumbledore's Army a few years ago. And I know that you and Ms. Ross are friends. The timing of your ridiculous behavior earlier was not a coincidence." Danielle didn't know what else to say. If she opened her mouth she was just going to say something sarcastic and that wasn't going to help her.

"Tell me what they were going to do with the sword!" Snape commands again.

"I don't know what they were going to do with it." Danielle says confidently.

"Ms. Emmings, you do realize how unpleasant your life will become if the Malfoy's find out that you were helping these people don't you?" Snape asks and Danielle wonders why he would even care. "If you don't tell me what you know than I will be forced to bring them here. The Malfoy's are a very proud family and after an embarrassment like this I can promise you that they will not go lightly on you."

Danielle decides not to respond again. What was she supposed to say?

"Perhaps the Carrows have had more luck getting answers out of your friends," Snape says and grabs Danielle by the arm and drags her out of the office.


	51. Part Two: Chapter Nineteen

Part Two: Chapter Nineteen

Danielle couldn't believe her eyes when she walked into Alecto Carrow's office with Snape to see Tracy, Luna, Ginny, and Neville all on the ground looking in agony. They were on their hands and knees breathing heavily. What had happened to them?

"Any luck?" Snape asks the two death eaters.

"No," Alecto frowns, "they are a stubborn lot."

"I expected as much," Snape glares at the four before shoving Danielle toward her friends. "Are you a member of the DA?" he asks her. Danielle instinctively looks down at Ginny. If she said that she was a member of the DA then she was going to be in big trouble with the Malfoys. If she said that she wasn't than Ginny and all the others in the DA might lose all trust in her.

"ANSWER HIM!" Alecto shouts at Danielle.

"No," Danielle answers quickly. Telling these people that she was in the DA didn't help anyone. At least now the Malfoys might not be so angry about her causing trouble. Danielle suddenly remembered the bruise she'd found on Draco's face her first night at Malfoy Manor. Would Lucius hit her too?

"Why did you help them break into Snape's office?" Amycus asks her now.

"I didn't help them. I wasn't even with them," Danielle says. It was a sort of a half truth.

"What were they going to do with the sword?" Amycus asks and Ginny looks up at Danielle.

"I don't know," Danielle shrugs, "Why would anybody want a sword when they already have a wand?"

"Crucio!" The Carrow brother shouts and before Danielle can think she's on her hands and knees screaming in pain. So this is what they had been doing to her friends. She felt invisible flames licking at her skin, and stabbing pain as if there were knives carving up her insides. Danielle was relieved when it was over.

"Are you ready to talk now?" Alecto asks with a sick grin. Danielle didn't know if she'd be able to talk with the way her body was ringing with the aftershock of the torture curse. Danielle had always wondered what the Cruciatus curse felt like and now she wished she didn't know.

"They would never tell me what the sword was for," Danielle groans, "They don't trust me because of who I'm engaged to."

"CRUCIO!" Amycus shouts again and Danielle once again yelps in pain. The pain was increasing in intensity now. Danielle felt like there were millions of hot pokers jabbing her all over her body. It felt like electricity was being sent all throughout her nervous system. She was proud of her friends for enduring this and not talking.

"Tell us what the deal with the sword is!" Amycus shouts once he lifts the curse.

"Open your ears!" Danielle snaps, "I said I don't know! Don't make me say it again."

"Crucio!" The sister shouts now and Danielle clenches her teeth together and curls into a ball on the floor. It was hard to believe that there wasn't some wild creature tearing at her face with razor sharp claws and that she wasn't being dipped into a cauldron of boiling hot water.

"Alright, that's enough" Snape tells Alecto who lifts the curse allowing Danielle's muscles to unclench. She tasted blood and figured she must have bit the inside of her cheek at some point.

"I know why you all did this today," Snape speaks up again as he looks down at the tired kids, "You're trying to inspire the other students. You're trying to show them that they can change the way things are if they fight it. I hope you've all realized how wrong you were to make such an assumption." He paused dramatically before continuing, "Now, I want you all to go back to your common rooms and stop whatever nonsense you're trying to pull. It will not work. If you thought what you went through today was bad, you don't want to know what will happen to you if you are caught stepping out of line again." Snape then turns around and instructs Amycus to take Ginny and Neville to Gryffindor tower, and Alecto to take Luna and Tracy to the Ravenclaw common room. He asked that Danielle be left with him; apparently he wasn't done with her yet. Tracy gives her best friend a worried glance as she is pulled out of the room. Danielle tries to give her a reassuring smile, but she was pretty worried too.

"Get up," Snape commands after the two of them are alone. Danielle tries to push herself up but her arms are so weak that she falls back down. Danielle had never felt so humiliated. It took her several minutes just to be able to get up on her feet, and it took even longer for her to hobble through the halls after Snape to his office. Even using the walls for support didn't help her move much faster. When they get back into Snape's office, Danielle collapses into a chair with a sigh of relief. She felt like she could fall asleep right then and there.

"Stay here," Snape tells her, "I think there is someone who might be able to deal with you." Danielle just nods. She couldn't get away even if she wanted to. Snape disappears into his back room where Danielle knew the fireplace was. It was where she and Tracy had gone last year to get to the Malfoy's Christmas Eve party. That's probably where Snape was going now. Danielle wondered what the Malfoys would do to her. Stupid Pansy, this was all her fault.

A few minutes later Danielle hears Snape's voice in the other room and fear creeps through her. The door opens and Snape walks back into his office. It isn't Lucius or Narcissa that follows him in though, it's Draco. Danielle didn't know if she should be relieved or horrified. Conflicting emotions surged through her as soon as she saw the blonde boys face. Would it be Draco that punished her? Danielle didn't know if she could bear that kind of humiliation; especially since she was actually happy to see him, which was something she hadn't really expected to feel if she ever saw him again. Another feeling that surprised her was the concern she felt at his appearance. He had a cut above his left eye that looked to be a few days old, as well as a few other bumps and bruises. He looked extremely worn down and completely exhausted, not at all in the mood to deal with the little stunt she had just pulled. Now Danielle felt another surprising emotion; guilt. She felt terrible for adding to Draco's stress. Hadn't she made the promise to herself to try and make this boy's life easier? Suddenly Danielle realized that Draco might be angry with her, and for some reason that made her feel oddly ashamed.

"Let me know when it's done." Snape tells Draco before heading out of his office. When it's done? That didn't sound good. Maybe being away from Draco these past couple months had caused all his feelings for her to disappear. Maybe, in her absence, he had turned back into his old self. Perhaps he would not hesitate to hurt her at all now.

"Draco," She croaks out. She'd lost her voice from all the screaming. She tries to push herself out of the chair but the muscles in her legs protest and she falls back down into the seat. Draco frowns at her weakened state and quickly comes to kneel in front of her.

"What did they do?" He asks softly even though Danielle could see anger etched in his facial features. She wasn't sure if the anger was for her or not though.

"Cruciatus," She mumbles feeling a bit embarrassed. She hoped she didn't seem too pitiful. She frowned when she saw the muscles in Draco's jaw tighten as he looked away from her for a moment. Danielle figured he was annoyed with her since he had warned her about this before and she hadn't listened to him.

"Are you going to be alright?" He asks her after a moment.

"I think so," Danielle shrugs even though parts of her were still tingling with pain. "Are you ok?" She wondered what horrors he had been through since their last meeting. Judging by his bruised and battered appearance, she guessed that Voldemort hadn't been taking it easy on him at all.

"I'm not the one who's just been tortured," Draco sighs.

"You and your parents must be furious with me," Danielle says then. She didn't want to beat around the bush. She wanted to know what her punishment would be.

"My parents don't know what happened, and I don't plan on them ever finding out" Draco looks at her seriously, "Thankfully, Snape came right to me. I'm not sure why he didn't go to my parents, but we're lucky he didn't. I don't even want to think about how they would have reacted or what they would have done." Danielle didn't know how to respond to that. Draco was protecting her again.

"What about Snape?" Danielle asks then.

"Surprisingly, Snape just asked me to talk to you" Draco continues with a shrug, "He said you might be more compliant if I was the one to question you." This comment caused Danielle to frown. Draco smiled a little, "Don't worry; I knew I wouldn't have any more luck with you than he did. I am curious though; about why you would try to steal a sword form Snape when you could have just hexed him."

"We were stealing the sword for Harry," Danielle suddenly blurts out causing Draco's eyes to widen in shock and fear. Obviously he hadn't expected her to tell him anything.

"Potter?" he gasps, "You know where he is?"

"No," Danielle replies honestly, "nobody does."

"Danielle," Draco looks down and rubs his face in his hands, "you shouldn't be telling me this. The dark lord could pull all of this out of my head in an instant. And for all you know, I could be planning on taking all of this information right to him anyway."

"Go ahead and tell," Danielle shrugs, "if he and the death eaters had half a brain they'd be able to figure out why we went for the sword. Dumbledore left the sword to Harry in his will; which the death eaters have complete access too since they're in control of the ministry. It really isn't that hard to figure out."

"If it wasn't important to keep all of that a secret than why didn't you just tell Snape?" Draco looked horrified, "You could have avoided getting tortured by the Carrows."

"Because I refuse to give in to them," Danielle states boldly, "even a little bit. The whole point of this thing was to show them that they don't have control over us. They can change the rules all they want, but that doesn't mean that anybody is going to follow them. People obey orders out of fear or respect, and I feel neither for Snape." Danielle was taken aback by the look of amusement that came onto Draco's face then.

"You and your rants," He says, "The manor isn't the same without them you know. You should come back with me." He was trying to sound like he was teasing her, but Danielle could see that his request was serious by the pleading look in his eyes.

"I can't leave now," Danielle tells him seriously, "Snape forced my sister to come back here and I need to make sure she stays safe. Plus, my friends are here, and I promised Tracy I would never choose you over them."

"And I don't count as your friend?" Draco asks with a frown before suddenly flushing in embarrassment after realizing what he had just said.

"You don't count ME as a friend." Danielle states feeling surprised by the sudden turn their conversation had made.

"What _would_ I count you as then?" Draco asks sounding irritated. Danielle had to think about this for a moment. Despite her attempts to try and deny it, the truth was that she did feel a little bit of a bond with Draco now. She had spent so much time with him over the last year that it was hard not to. She cared about his well being, and it seemed like Draco might care about hers as well. So really, what else was really required in order to call someone your friend? There wasn't really a required set of criteria to earn the title. The only thing that worried Danielle was that Draco had been so mean to her and her other friends before. She would not be able to be his friend if he continued to look down on Harry, Hermione, and Ron. But then again, Danielle was friends with the three Gryffindors even though they were mean to Draco. He still had the scars on his chest from the curse Harry had sent at him the previous year. Draco had almost died that day yet Danielle was still friends with Harry. When she thought of it that way, the idea of being friends with Draco didn't seem so crazy.

"Well, I admit that I'm quite honored to be friends with a Malfoy" Danielle gives Draco a small smile. He returned the gesture but Danielle could tell he felt a little uncomfortable with the sentimental stuff so she steered the conversation away from the topic, "but even still, I can't go back to the manor. I need to stay here so that I can continue to fight."

"You're foolish," Draco lets out a sigh.

"A trait that has benefited you on more than one occasion," Danielle raises her eyebrow at the boy.

"Whatever," Draco says. "I stole your game by the way." Danielle can't help but laugh at that.

"I knew it!" She shakes her head at the boy, "and just so you know, you did not steal it; you borrowed it. I'll want it back at some point so that I can finally beat Heart gold."

"I guess you'll just have to come and get it then," Draco says and Danielle can tell this is his way of insuring that she'll come back to the manor eventually.

"You are such a pain sometimes," she laughs before reaching into her robes and pulling out her wand.

"What are you doing?" Draco asks her.

"Healing you," she replies as she aims the tip of her wand at the cut on his face. After a few seconds, the gash and the bruises were completely gone. She couldn't erase the signs of stress and exhaustion though. "If anybody gives you a hard time about it, just blame it on me for trying to be a considerate fiancée."

"Thank you," Draco mutters as he feels around his face and finds no pain.

"No, thank you" Danielle responds, "you've saved me from getting into serious trouble a couple times now."

"I couldn't save you from the Carrows today," He tells her.

"I knew what I was getting myself into," Danielle says honestly, "it is my own fault that I'm in the state I'm in now."

"Can you stand up yet?" Draco asks her, "I should probably call Snape back soon, and I kind of want you to head back to your common room before I do it. I don't want to have to leave you alone with him."

"I'll try," Danielle says even though she didn't want to leave Draco yet. "I might need your help though." Draco nods and puts his arm out for her to hold onto as she pushes herself out of her chair. Thankfully, the pain was mostly gone and she was able to walk on her own again.

"Can you make it back to up to your common room?" Draco asks.

"I think so, it's only two floors up" Danielle nods. The two stand in silence for a moment after that before Draco suddenly steps forward and pulls Danielle into a tight hug. This surprised Danielle but she hugged him back anyway. He must not want to leave yet either.

"I wish you-know-who would have let you come back to Hogwarts," She tells him. She feels him nod his head as a response. Danielle realizes then that this is the first comfort Draco has had in two months. Since she came back to Hogwarts, Draco hasn't had anyone he could relax and be himself around. She felt bad that he had to go back to the manor alone. When she pulls away from him she looks him right in the eye, "Hang in there for me, ok?" He nods his head quickly but doesn't say anything. "I'll see you soon," she adds before waving goodbye and leaving Snape's office.

* * *

**I hope you all enjoyed seeing Draco again! It's been a few chapters since he's been around. I think this is another big moment for the two of them too, don't you?**


	52. Part Two: Chapter Twenty

Part Two: Chapter Twenty

"Well that couldn't have gone any worse!" Cho frowns when Danielle walks into the Ravenclaw common room and collapses into one of the blue chairs. The girl had already been busy taking care of Tracy and Luna. They both still looked pretty bad from enduring the cruciatus curse.

"I'd say it was a success," Luna declares before wincing a little when she adjusts herself on the couch.

"You guys were ratted out by Pansy Parkinson," Cho looks at Luna like she's crazy, "How is that a success?"

"We wouldn't have been able to get Harry the sword anyway even if we had been able to take it. Nobody knows where he is." Luna explains.

"I suppose your right," Danielle sighs. "At least now Snape knows that we aren't just going to sit back and let him dictate the school. It's the message that matters."

"Yes, but it still would have been nice to have the sword" Tracy points out, "If it really can help Harry defeat you-know-who, I would feel better if it was at least in our possession; not Snape's."

"I'm sure Harry will be able to find another way," Luna says optimistically, "Dumbledore was smart. He must have known that there was a possibility that Harry wouldn't get the sword. If it was that important, I think he would have given the sword to Harry in person before he died."

"That's an oddity all in itself," Cho looks up in thought, "Why didn't Dumbledore just give Harry the sword? The fact that it was left in the will almost makes it seem like he knew he was going to die." At this comment, Tracy sent a knowing look over at Danielle. This particular mystery had played on both of their minds. Draco _had_ told Dumbledore of Voldemort's plan to kill him. For some reason, the great wizard didn't seem to have put much effort into avoiding this fate though since he ended up dead even after being warned. Danielle sometimes wondered if Dumbledore had died on purpose, which would be really peculiar if it were true.

"Well, all I know is that the cruciatus curse is no joke," Tracy looks between Danielle and Luna, "The pain was unbearable."

"Yeah, I didn't know it was possible to feel that much pain without dying," Danielle scrunches up her face at the memory.

"What did Snape want with you afterwards anyway?" Tracy asks looking concerned.

"He brought Draco here to 'have a talk with me'" Danielle tells her, "He's not going to tell his parents about me helping you guys though so I'm off the hook."

"He covered for you again?" Tracy asks in shock.

"He must really care about you," Luna smiles as if the engagement between Danielle and Draco was a truly wonderful and blissful thing.

"Sometimes it seems like he does," Danielle admits before looking to Tracy, "He's not looking so good though. I think you-know-who is really putting him through the wringer. He looks worse than he did last year." Tracy frowned as she remembered how tired and worn Draco had been when trying to work on the vanishing cabinet the year before. She wanted to ask Danielle to tell her more but knew that they'd have to wait until they were alone to talk about Draco further.

"Oh yes," Cho says sarcastically, "It must be so terrible to not have to come to school so that he can lounge around and do nothing all day in his gigantic home." Danielle had to hold back from launching into an argument with the girl. She wanted to defend Draco, but she knew she couldn't.

"I think he must be miserable living in a family of death eaters," Luna pipes in with a frown. "I've always felt a bit bad for those born into such unfortunate circumstances." Cho looked appalled by Luna's empathy, but Danielle felt admiration for it. Luna was definitely an odd person, but at least she wasn't so quick to judge like most of the other students at Hogwarts.

* * *

The next day, Tracy and Danielle walked into their 'dark arts' class with Cho and Luna. They had this class with the Gryffindors so they quickly found seats next to Neville and Seamus. Danielle had to sit a row away from her friends though. After she had claimed to not be a member of the DA, she decided it would be bad if she was seen hanging around the others by one of the Carrows. When Amycus Carrow walked into the classroom though, he was followed by a group of first years. Abby was among them. Danielle instantly had a terrible feeling about what might happen.

"We have a very special lesson today seventh years," Amycus smirked as he looked around the room. "We'll be learning about and practicing a very useful spell." Tracy and Neville looked at each other warily.

"A few of the students in this class have recently had some firsthand experience with this particular bit of magic," Amycus let his eyes wander over to where the DA members were sitting. "Mr. Longbottom, how would you like to be the first to demonstrate how to do the cruciatus curse?"

"I wouldn't like it at all," Neville says through clenched teeth. He did know firsthand how terrible the curse was and he definitely didn't want to subject a first year student to such a horrendous thing.

"Well that is too bad," Amycus narrows his eyes, "Because you don't have a choice. Get up here." Danielle's heart began to race as she thought of her sister feeling the pain she had felt the day before.

"I won't do it." Neville wasn't backing down.

"You will." Amycus replies smoothly, "Or you will face the consequences."

"This is wrong!" Seamus defends Neville. "You can't make us do it!"

"Really?" Amycus grins and pulls out his wand. "Is there anybody who'd like to volunteer to demonstrate the torture curse?" Nobody raised their hand so Amycus points his wand at Tracy. "How about you Ms. Ross? IMPERIO!"

Tracy knew she was in trouble as soon as she heard that spell. The imperious curse gave the spell caster complete control over their victim's actions. Only someone who was extremely strong willed could fight it off. Tracy didn't know if she could. She heard Amycus' voice in her head telling her to stand up. She did. He commanded her to walk up to the front of the room and she obeyed. Tracy tried to fight it but it was really hard. Amycus was very strong.

"Ah, very good Ms. Ross. What do you think Mr. Longbottom? I don't think getting you all to cooperate will be as difficult as you think." Amycus laughed and turned back to Tracy. In her head she heard him tell her to get out her wand and point it at Abby. At this she began to panic. She fought as hard as she could to break through the imperious curse but she just couldn't. She could see herself doing what Amycus wanted her to but she could not stop herself. All she could do was look down at Abby who was keeping a brave face even though she still had silent tears of fear welling in her eyes. Tracy felt terrible. She fought with all her might to throw off the imperious curse's control on her but it was no use.

"NO!" Neville stands and yells. "Tracy don't do it!"

"She can only obey my commands you idiot," Amycus smirks at Neville. Tracy tries to stop herself as she feels her lips begin to move to say the spell. Danielle then stands and waves her wand at her best friend who immediately flies backwards into the group of first years. Her wand soars out of her hand, across the room, and into Danielle's outstretched palm.

"What is the meaning of this Emmings?" Amycus snaps and glares up at the girl. "Haven't you gotten yourself into enough trouble already this year?" Tracy groaned and rubbed the back of her head as she pushed herself off the ground. Abby asked if she was ok and Tracy nodded and said she was sorry for almost torturing her.

"Excuse me professor but that is my sister that you were about to send an unforgivable curse at!" Danielle glares down at the death eater before looking at Tracy. "Sorry."

"It's alright," Tracy mumbles. "Thank you for doing it." Tracy didn't mind getting knocked on her bum by a disarming spell. It was better than being forced to torture her best friend's little sister.

"Fair enough Ms. Emmings," Amycus grins, "Perhaps you'd like to swap places with your sister then since you're feeling so heroic."

"I don't care," Danielle says and walks down to the front of the room confidently. She didn't really want to be crucio'd again but she'd rather it be her than Abby.

"Ok Ms. Ross. You know what to do." Amycus smiles at the two Ravenclaw girls. Danielle hands Tracy's wand back to her and Tracy feels sick. She was not about to torture her best friend.

"Don't be shy," Amycus goads, "she deserves it for attacking you from behind. She practically volunteered for this."

"I…," Tracy looks at Danielle feeling hopeless.

"Just do it," Danielle whispers. It would hopefully be over in a minute and then they could all make it out of here without pissing Amycus off too bad.

"STUPEFY!" Seamus shouts and violently thrashes his wand toward Amycus who quickly turns and deflects the spell.

"Seamus! No!" Tracy felt her heart sink. This was bad.

"You'll regret that boy," Amycus growls and flicks his wand at Seamus who falls to the ground clenching his fists and screaming in agony. "You see class? This is how the torture curse works. It does well as a punishment and getting people to spill their secrets. You must be careful though. If one is subjected to this curse for too long they can lose their minds!"

Amycus laughed loudly as Seamus continued to squirm around on the ground. His eyes were clenched shut and there was blood coming from the side of his mouth where he was biting the inside of his cheek. Finally, after several agonizing minutes Amycus lifted the curse and the room went silent. Seamus' screams still echoed in everyone's ears as they watched him try to open his eyes which were rolling to the back of his head. Not even the other DA members had been put under the horrible curse for so long.

"Very well. I think that will be all for today. Everyone may proceed to their next class now. Except for Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Finnigan." Amycus folds his arms as he watches his class pack up, daring one of them to try to say anything. Danielle fought her urge to run over to where Seamus was lying on the floor. She didn't care if the boy had been a bit of a jerk to her lately, he hadn't deserved this. But, she would probably get herself and Seamus into even more trouble if she did go to him. At least Neville would be staying back with him. Nobody got a chance to say anything about what happened before they were taken out into the hall and escorted to their next class in silence.

* * *

"Bring him here!" Danielle says quickly as Neville pulls a half conscious Seamus through the door of the room of requirement. Tracy had used her DA coin to call an emergency meeting after what had happened in Amycus' classroom just the hour before. She and Danielle had been worried that they might need to put together some sort of rescue mission in case things got too ugly for Seamus and Neville.

"They wouldn't let me take him to the hospital wing," Neville groans in agony. He had obviously been punished severely as well for speaking out against Amycus in class. The two Ravenclaw boys, Terry Boot and Anthony Goldstein rushed over to take Seamus' weight off of Neville so that they could take him to Danielle.

"But they let you bring him here?" Cho asks in shock as she looks at Seamus in horror.

"No," Neville shakes his head, "Snape had Filtch follow us to make sure we went straight back to Gryffindor tower, but I stunned him so that I could get Seamus help. This was the closest place."

"He needs to go to the hospital!" Parvati frowns, "And so do you!" Neville merely shrugged even though he was bleeding from his split bottom lip and squinting to try and see through his swollen right eye. He also looked to be cradling his arm in pain.

"You can help them, right?" Tracy asks Danielle, who was examining Seamus' wounds.

"I'm no Madam Pomfrey," Danielle says honestly, "But I can do my best. I only have my wand though. I could do more if I had other supplies." A grinding noise suddenly began echoing throughout the room of requirement and everyone gasped when a large white metal cabinet emerged right out of the wall to their right. Luna walked over to it and threw the doors open.

"Hogwarts says your wish is its command," she smiles as she examines the contents. It was filled with bottles of pre-brewed potions, jars of herbs, and boxes containing cotton balls, gauze, and other medical items. "What sort of supplies did you need?"

"That depends on what happened exactly," Danielle was still kneeling at Seamus' side but turned to look at Neville. The boy began to explain everything that the Carrows had done to him and Seamus while Tracy transfigured a table into a hospital bed for Seamus to be laid upon. Once Danielle knew all the details, she got to work on fixing up the two broken boys. She was worried though since she had only ever dealt with minor injuries. She wasn't anywhere close to being a professional doctor. As promised though, she did the best she could.

"Maybe restarting the DA wasn't' such a good idea after all," Padma sighs sadly once the fear and shock in the room had died down a bit. "We don't stand a chance against the Carrows."

"We can't give up now!" Ginny crosses her arms, "This is war! We knew it wasn't going to be easy!"

"But look at Seamus! They could have killed him!" Hannah Abbot cries in disbelief.

"So what?" Neville challenges the group as Danielle tries out a spell to heal his arm, "We just sit back and let them force us to use unforgiveable curses on first years? I don't think so!"

"Well then, what are we supposed to do?" Parvati asks warily.

"Strike back!" Tracy declares, "Let them know that they haven't scared us off."

"And what if they catch us again?" Padma questions, "They're going to come down on us even harder. Neville's already going to have to watch his back once Snape finds out he stunned Filtch!"

"Snape should have been smarter than to send us off with that old coot anyway," Neville defends.

"How can you guys want to keep fighting?" Hanna Abbot asks then looking between Neville, Luna, Tracy, Ginny, and Danielle, "You guys were tortured for trying to steal the sword. You can't possibly want to relive that."

"You need to stop letting dark magic intimidate you," Danielle then speaks up as she pours some type of potion into Seamus' mouth for him to swallow, "Just because it's dark and evil doesn't mean it's stronger than us. We're not incompetent. Harry taught you guys a dozen or more different spells a couple years ago that are both strong and effective, and I know we've been working on even stronger spells this year. This battle isn't one sided. It only looks that way because you guys are looking at Snape and the Carrows as your superiors when they aren't."

"That's right," Tracy nods her head, "If we back down now that means that they've won."

"So, when are we supposed to do this strike back?" Terry Boot asks.

"Tonight," Ginny declares and Tracy nods her head in agreement.

"I have an idea of what we can do," Luna then pipes in before going into an explanation of her plan.


	53. Part Two: Chapter Twenty One

Part Two: Chapter Twenty One

"You know, you have some gall standing up to the Carrows the way you do," Blaise Zabini slips into the empty seat next to Danielle in their potions class. She was still avoiding sitting next to Tracy, Luna, and other DA members in her classes so she mostly ended up sitting alone. It didn't bug her since she got to see them at DA meetings and in the common room all the time. She was surprised that Blaise would join her though.

"Are you talking about what I did in the great hall?" Danielle asks with a small smile, "Or have you heard about the fiasco that occurred in Amycus' class the other day?"

"Both," The Slytherin smirks, "Do I have you to thank for the new artwork in the entrance hall as well?" The night after what happened to Seamus, a couple of the DA members had snuck out of their common rooms to execute Luna's plan. They had magically painted the words 'Dumbledore's Army' across the wall in big bold letters right outside the doors that led into the Great Hall. The simple act had caused quite the uproar among the students and staff, who after several days still could not figure out how to remove the writing from the wall.

"No, that wasn't me" Danielle tells him honestly, "Although the way the Carrows reacted to it was highly amusing. You'd have thought they were being burned by holy water or something when they saw it."

"Some people just can't handle their backlash," Blaise shakes his head in fake seriousness. Danielle laughs at this even though she was still confused as to why this guy was talking to her in the first place. He didn't get up and move when Professor Slughorn came in and started class either. Neither of them spoke again though until they were well into making their potions.

"Sorry about Pansy by the way," Blaise randomly says. Danielle turned to look at him and found that he looked completely sincere, "I tried to stop her from going after Ross and the others when they snuck out of the great hall, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"Don't worry about it," Danielle tells him, "It wasn't your fault." After a moment she added, "But thanks though, for trying to stop her."

"Yeah," Blaise looks down before frowning, "I heard they used the Cruciatus on you." Danielle suddenly felt embarrassed. She didn't like people knowing about her being tortured by the Carrows because it had sort of been a traumatic thing. The fact that this news was traveling around the school made Danielle feel a little uncomfortable. So, she only shrugged as a response.

"That's pretty messed up," Blaise looked stern now, "are you alright?"

"You're taking your job to look out for me pretty seriously," Danielle says just to avoid his questions. His concern confused her.

"I'm not asking for Draco's sake," Blaise replies truthfully, "I've heard there are some nasty side effects to the torture curse: permanent mental injuries, chronic nightmares; nasty stuff. You'd think just the pain alone would be enough, but apparently not."

"I'll admit it wasn't pleasant," Danielle confides, "but I don't think I was subjected to it long enough to have any real damage. Plus, there are potions to help take care of nightmares." Danielle had woken up a few times since the incident to find her limbs tingling as if she'd just been put under the terrible curse again, but she wasn't worried about the occurrences becoming a problem at all. She figured it had only been a few days, and her mind was still trying to work through and overcome what had happened to her.

"I heard they used the imperious on Ross too," Blaise says then.

"Yeah," Danielle frowns at the memory, "Amycus was trying to make her use the cruciatus on my sister. I still can't believe I had to hex my own best friend to save her."

"Desperate times; desperate measures," Blaise sighs as he gives his potion a stir. Danielle was surprised by how troubled the boy looked.

"Draco thinks I'm foolish for acting out against Snape and the Carrows," Danielle mumbles after a moment. She felt odd having an actual conversation with this Slytherin, but she wanted his opinion. Also, besides Tracy, Blaise was the only one she could talk to about her fiancé. Everyone else she was friends with hated him.

"I don't think it's ever foolish for anyone to do anything," Blaise tells her, "as long as they do it for reasons that are their own that they truly believe in." Danielle had to think about that for a moment.

"So, you're looking out for me for a reason other than because Draco told you too?" She challenges and Blaise awards her with a smile.

"Either that or I'm a fool," He teases and Danielle laughs. "But honestly, I wouldn't worry too much. I really doubt that Draco thinks you're foolish. He just sucks at expressing his thoughts and feelings."

"I didn't know Slytherins had thoughts and feelings," Danielle replies. Blaise lets out a laugh, knowing that she was only messing with him.

"Stick around then, Emmings" He smiles at her, "because we Slytherins are full of surprises."

* * *

"Aye, is Danielle here?" Seamus' voice called out as he bursts into the room of requirement a few weeks later, "Ernie MacMillan just helped a couple of first years escape from the Carrows. They're in bad shape though; he wants to bring them here."

"She's in Herbology right now with Neville," Tracy frowns, "she won't be out for another half an hour, and who knows how long it'll take her to sneak over here."

"I know," Seamus sighs in disappointment, "The more we fight the tighter the security is around here. It's getting to be extremely difficult to avoid run-ins with Filtch or the Carrows. I nearly got caught myself just now."

"Well, if he thinks he can get here tell him to come on up" Tracy states as she looks around the room, "Danielle left some instructions here for us to follow so that we can tend to people whenever she isn't here." Seamus nods and pulls out his DA coin to send the message to the brave Hufflepuff.

"I still can't believe she fixed me up as well as she did," Seamus plops down in a chair to wait after putting his coin back in his robes. He and Danielle were getting along a lot better now that she had healed him after his run in with the torture curse. He had even apologized for being a bit harsh with her before.

"You definitely got lucky," Tracy agrees as she gathers some items from the white cabinet to prepare for whatever state these first years would be in. "I don't know what we're going to do if the Carrows' punishments get any worse though."

"We'll be alright," Seamus tells her, "I'm just surprised the other professors haven't done anything to stop us yet. I mean, has McGonagall said anything to you? I know you're her favorite student and all." Tracy blushes a little before answering.

"I think she knows that she can't stop us," Tracy shrugs, "And I think she might actually be proud of us for what we're doing. I mean, we aren't being completely reckless. We plan everything out before we do anything crazy, and we're only allowing older students to participate in what we do. In fact, most of what we've been doing lately is protecting the younger kids. If anything, the other professors appreciate what we're doing." At that moment, Ernie MacMillan rushed in carrying a small Gryffindor girl in his arms. Two other little Hufflepuff first years hobbled in after him.

"They did something to her leg," Ernie explains as he places the girl he was holding down on one of the beds. She was crying and clutching at her calf. Tracy frowns and goes over to the bed feeling completely out of her element. She examined the girl's leg and found no signs of a wound which meant it wasn't a physical ailment but a magical one. That made things a lot more complicated.

"Anything wrong with you two?" Seamus kneels down to the other little first years. Those two seemed to be in a lot better shape than the Gryffindor girl. They had strange tiny cuts all over their hands, but Ernie and Seamus were able to mend them up pretty quickly using a special fast healing salve and some bandages. It took them a little bit longer to figure out what was wrong with the Gryffindor girl but they did finally find a potion that seemed to reverse the curse that had been placed on her.

"Blimey, I hate seeing them all scared and hurt like that" Seamus breathes a sigh of relief after Ernie left with the first years to take them back to their common rooms.

"I know," Tracy agrees, "the worst part is sending them back out into the snake pit though. I wish we could just keep them all here but we can't."

"I hope Harry finds a way to end this war soon," Seamus tells her seriously.

"Me too," was Tracy's honest reply. She doubted it would be over soon though. And it definitely wasn't going to end easily. Voldemort and his death eaters were not going to go down without a fight. But that was okay, because neither was Harry, Dumbledore's army, or the Order of the Phoenix.

* * *

"Guess what," Cho asks one day while she and her three fellow Ravenclaws sit together in their common room.

"What?" Luna asks curiously. Danielle and Tracy look up as well.

"I have an exam in my Arithmancy class tomorrow," Cho tells them all in bewilderment, "I completely forgot about it. I haven't studied at all! I've been so wrapped up in the DA that I've had no time to worry about school. I mean, obviously my grades aren't as important as what we've been doing; I just think it's strange how war changes your priorities."

"I know what you mean," Danielle says sympathetically, "I haven't done a single homework assignment in three weeks. I've been using all my free time to sneak off to the library to read up on some of the stuff in that medicine cabinet that appeared in the room of requirement. I'm terrified I'm going to give someone the wrong thing one time and make them worse. I have no idea what some of that stuff is."

"It just isn't the same here anymore, is it? The war has taken all the best parts of Hogwarts away," Luna frowns. "I still can't believe we can't send or receive mail. I miss being able to write to my father. He gets so lonely when I'm here."

"I miss Quidditch" Cho sighs, "I was really hoping to beat Gryffindor for the cup for my final year."

"I miss Harry," Tracy blushes, "Obviously, and Ron and Hermione."

"I miss…" Danielle trails off as she tries to think of something to add. The war had almost taken Abby away from Hogwarts, but that would have been a good thing. The only other thing of importance that Danielle could think of that was missing was Draco. The realization caused her to feel embarrassed. "I miss Ron, Hermione, and Harry too," She finally says. Tracy raises her eyebrows at her friend and Danielle looked away feeling awkward. The four sat in silence for a moment when suddenly Danielle blurts out, "I miss Dumbledore."

"I miss him too," Luna agrees instantly, "Sometimes I wonder how he would feel about what we've been doing, and what Hogwarts has become."

"It's still hard to believe he's gone," Cho states sadly. "It's just terrible that such a great and powerful man could be brought down by the likes of Snape. I always knew there was something off about him."

"Snape will get what's coming to him," Tracy declares confidently then, "Same for the Carrows, you-know-who, and all the other death eaters. They'll all pay for the terrible things that they've done, mark my words."

"Yeah," Cho nods her head in agreement, "I think when push comes to shove I might just beat them to death with my broomstick as retribution." This causes the mood in the room to lighten considerably. Tracy even laughed.

"Sounds fair," She tells the girl with a smile, "If I were you, I might even go all out and bludgeon them in the head with the actual Quidditch cup. That way they'll know for sure what they did wrong." All four girls laughed this time. They knew the situation was serious of course, but being able to laugh and joke together gave them a bit of respite from the stress in their lives. It also brought the girls closer, and gave them a sense of security and safety in one another's company.


	54. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Two

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Two

It was a week before Christmas break when Tracy and Ginny decided to hold one last formal meeting for the DA. They had all been in and out of the room of requirement lately, but never all at the same time. It was time to get everyone organized so that they could discuss possible plans of action for over break, and for when they got back after the holidays. It took several hours before everyone was able to make it to the meeting though. It was bordering on impossible now to go anywhere in the school without the Carrows knowing about it. It was a relief when everyone was accounted for.

"Alright, I think we all know that it's time to re-evaluate what we're doing" Ginny announces to the group. "What we've been able to accomplish so far this year is incredible, so I really don't think quitting is an option." A murmur of agreement spread through the room and Ginny continued, "But just the fact that it is so difficult for us all to meet up shows that we need a new system."

"Also," Tracy pipes in now, "Snape and the Carrows know by now exactly who is in the DA. Even when we are able to do something without getting caught, the death eaters know who to punish anyway."

"So, you're basically saying that Hogwarts isn't safe for us anymore?" Hanna Abbot asks looking a bit frightened.

"It wasn't ever really safe though, was it?" Ernie MacMillan replies seriously.

"No, as long as Snape is headmaster and the Carrows are around, Hogwarts will never be safe for anyone," Tracy agrees, "But it is especially bad for us now because we're being targeted by them specifically."

"Are you trying to suggest that we leave then?" Anthony Goldstein looks at Tracy worriedly.

"It wouldn't be any safer outside the castle," Neville speaks up, "Snape would have us all hunted down as soon as he realized we were missing."

"We'd have to go on the run," Cho frowns, "And then we'd never accomplish anything."

"I don't think we should leave Hogwarts," Tracy assures them, "At least not for good. Surprisingly, Snape is allowing students to go home for the holidays. I think we should all take advantage of this. None of us have seen or talked to our families in four months, and for some of us it's been even longer than that."

"We'll be coming back here after that though?" Terry Boot questions looking unsure of if he would want to come back after finally escaping.

"Yes," Tracy confirms, "We'll all come back so that Snape knows we're all accounted for. I'm sure after break it'll be just as hard to get around the school undetected, so I propose that we all sneak to the room of requirement one more time after we get back, and then stay here."

"What?" Danielle looks at her friend in confusion, "What do you mean by stay here?"

"I mean that we should move into the room of requirement and use it as a hide out," Tracy explains, "that way, we will all be together and we won't have to worry about sneaking around anymore."

"What about going to classes?" Padma Patil asks skeptically, "The Carrows have taken to having us escorted to and from our common rooms. Won't they notice if we never go back there?"

"That's the thing," Ginny tells her, "We won't be going to classes anymore." This caused a bit of an uproar among the group.

"Hey! Come on!" Tracy waves her arms to get their attention, "Think about it! We aren't learning anything anyway. With everything that's been going on, I know that all of our grades are suffering. Going to class isn't even worth it anymore at this point."

"If we aren't going to be going to classes, why come back at all?" Seamus questions.

"Because we all need to stick together," Ginny declares, "If something happens, we'll have safety in numbers. If for some reason the order needs us or if Harry needs us, we'll all be in once place. Plus, staying here means we won't be on the run. We won't have to worry about being hunted down. We'll be able to look after one another."

"And we won't just be staying in here doing nothing all the time," Tracy promises, "I still plan on watching out for the other students and giving Snape and the Carrows a hard time, but now at least we'll be more organized and more focused."

"We'll be able to work much more effectively this way," Ginny adds.

"I think this idea is brilliant," Danielle nods before looking around the room. "I really doubt finishing school, and getting high marks on our N.E.W.T exams is going to help us in the real world when it's being run by you-know-who right now anyway. I doubt the death eaters are going to be giving us jobs any time soon either. We need to put all of our efforts into winning this war because really, it doesn't matter how smart or talented any of us are; we are never going to have successful, satisfying lives until you-know-who is dead."

"Cheers to that," Seamus claps his hands causing Danielle to blush a little.

"What about me?" Abby interjects awkwardly, "Am I really going to go all the way back to the states for the holidays? Something tells me Snape wouldn't like that. I'm also just a second year. I don't help out much with the DA. Would I still be staying here with you guys?"

"Don't be silly Abbs," Ginny beams down at the girl, "Of course you'll be staying in the room or requirement with us. We'll find something safe but helpful for you to do. And, you aren't going back to the states over break; you'll be coming to stay at my house with Tracy."

"Uh…" Danielle then raises her hand in confusion, "am I staying with you guys as well?"

"Danielle…" Tracy begins looking a little embarrassed, "I was planning on talking to you about your arrangements later."

"What?" Danielle starts to feel a little annoyed. She didn't want to be the odd one out, "Tell me now. What arrangements?"

"Danielle, do you remember what Hermione said about your engagement ring?" Ginny asks the girl sadly. Danielle looks down at the large emerald in disgust.

"The Malfoys might be able to track you with it," Tracy answers for her, "If you come back to school but then go missing, they aren't going to be happy."

"And if they do try to locate you," Ginny frowns, "You could lead them right to us; right to the room of requirement." Danielle's heart sinks at these words. She felt her temper start to flare, but knew she couldn't take it out on her friends. They weren't trying to be mean to her. What they were saying was true. Danielle just didn't want to accept it.

"So what," She asks, "I'm supposed to come back and jump back into the Hogwarts life without any of you around? I don't want to stay in the Ravenclaw common room and go to all my classes by myself."

"Well, I was actually thinking you could do something a little bit more productive than that," Tracy suggests cautiously.

"Like what?" was the irritated response. She had been all excited about Tracy and Ginny's plan and now she didn't even get to be a part of it.

"Maybe we should talk about this in private," Tracy advises.

"Just tell me," Danielle groans, "Everyone here is going to find out eventually anyway right? I don't feel like keeping secrets from anyone right now."

"Fine," Tracy concedes, "Ginny and I discussed the possibility of you going back to Malfoy Manor." A wave of emotions hit Danielle like a ton of bricks: shock, fear, disbelief, anger, and confusion.

"What? For the holidays?" She gasps without thinking.

"No," Ginny says apologetically, "We meant that you wouldn't come back here." Now Danielle felt hurt.

"You're getting rid of me?" She asks.

"No!" Tracy defends, "I just thought you might like that better than being here and being isolated."

"How would going back there be better?" Danielle nearly shouts, "I don't want to be with the Malfoys! I want to be with you guys!" She was starting to feel a bit hysterical. She had just begun to feel like she was doing something right by helping out the DA; like she was fitting in, and now they wanted her to go back to being the Malfoy's prisoner.

"There's got to be some way we can keep her around," Seamus speaks up, "And what about her healer stuff. We need her!"

"Maybe we can find a way to remove the ring," Terry Boot offers.

"There's no way to remove it," Danielle states bitterly, "Hermione couldn't even do it."

"Seriously Danielle, it's not that we don't want you around" Ginny was looking like she really felt bad for upsetting the girl.

"I know," Danielle honestly did understand. She was just terrified of being back in the center of the dark side of the war. She didn't want to go back to the feeling of constant terror, of being surrounded by death eaters, or the fear of having a run in with Lord Voldemort himself. Having to eat dinner and act civilized with the enemy was extremely difficult for Danielle; not to mention the sleepless nights that she'd either spend worrying about Draco being out on some horrible mission, or worrying that someone would catch on to the fact that she truly hated every single person at the manor and wished them dead. It wasn't pleasant and the thought of going back made Danielle feel sick.

"You don't have to go there," Tracy reminds her, "It was just a suggestion. I was just thinking that if you couldn't help us, you might want to help someone else." Danielle sent a glare over at Tracy.

"Please don't start this again," She says seriously.

"You said yourself that he looked terrible," Tracy shrugs.

"Who?" Seamus furrows his eyebrows, "You aren't talking about Malfoy, surely!"

"I don't think you guys understand," Danielle ignores Seamus, "Do you have any idea what it's like there? It's flooded with death eaters on a daily basis, and you-know-who himself even stays there sometimes!"

"And Draco is there dealing with it all on his own," Tracy points out.

"You ARE talking about Malfoy!" Seamus looks appalled, "Why do we care about him at all?"

"Look Danielle," Ginny sighs as she also ignores Seamus, "I know going back wont' be easy, but staying here won't be much better. I'm not the biggest fan of Malfoy myself, but I trust your instincts. You've gone above and beyond to prove your loyalty to us, to Harry, and to Dumbledore. If you can do something positive for someone by going back to the Manor, I think you should do it because you won't be able to do much here. And it might not be as bad this time, because you won't be completely cut off. You will still have your DA coin, so we'll be able to keep in touch." Danielle was moved by Ginny's confession of trust. It felt good knowing that all her risks and efforts had been recognized. But, it still didn't change the fact that Danielle really didn't want to go back to Malfoy Manor. The thought of being locked up in that bedroom again made her extremely reluctant. She knew that Draco wanted her back there, but would helping him out be worth the struggles she would be forced to endure?

"You were able to pick up on some of the death eaters plans while you were there before too, weren't you?" Neville suddenly asks, "You could keep us up to date on what's going on outside the castle, and we could keep you informed on what is happening inside of it."

"She could still help us here even if she didn't stay in the room of requirement," Seamus points out. "And we could still talk to her with the coins too."

"Yeah, but she'd still be completely separated from us," Luna counters, "She would be forced to sit by herself in the common room, in classes, and in the great hall. She'd have to deal with the Carrows and the terrible things they make people do in their classes all by herself." Danielle frowned at the thought. What Luna was describing did not sound pleasant either. Having her friends at her side gave her the strength to stand up to the Carrows and to Snape. Would she be able to get through the rest of the school year in one piece without them? Would she be able to hold her tongue and do nothing while knowing that all her friends were just out of reach, actively participating in the war? Danielle knew that she would crack eventually. She would not be able to practice unforgivable curses on first years or sit through prejudiced and hateful lectures about muggles without fuss. She would lose her temper and get herself into trouble for sure.

"Yeah, but if she left to go to the Manor she'd be alone too" Seamus argues, "And there she'd have to face death eaters, you-know-who, and Malfoy!"

"I won't be in danger at the manor as long as I behave" Danielle finds herself telling him, "but that's the problem. I don't want to behave. I want to kill those heartless monsters."

"It's up to you," Tracy repeats, "I don't want to force you. Nobody is going to be upset if you stay here. Like I said, we just thought being at the manor might be preferable to being here." Danielle looked down at her feet for a second.

"You promise you'll keep Abby safe?" She asks quietly.

"Of course," Neville speaks up first.

"We'll help her get here after break, and then we won't let her leave" Ginny promises.

"You don't think I'd let something happen to your sister, do you?" Tracy asks looking dead serious, "The only way anyone is getting to her is over my dead body."

"Okay," Danielle shakes her head, suddenly feeling sick, "let's not talk about your dead body… ever."

"Does this mean you're actually going to go back there?" Seamus asks looking shocked.

"It appears like, once again, that's my best option" Danielle sighs, "Ginny and Tracy are right. I could put you all in danger by staying in the room of requirement, so coming back to school after break would be useless. I'd go crazy if I had to sit around here doing nothing. At least if I go back to the Manor, I might be able to … help."

"It'll all work out," Ginny comes over and pats the girl on the arm, "Tracy told me that Harry trusted your judgment about Malfoy, so I do too."

"Dumbledore also trusted you," Tracy adds.

"Dumbledore?" Seamus looks around the room but everyone just shrugs. Tracy was the only one who knew about Danielle's odd relationship with the old Headmaster.

"Right," Danielle nods her head, "It's crazy, but I'll do it. I'll go."

* * *

**Oh man! She's going back to the manor guys! Any thoughts and feelings about this? I feel like I haven't been getting many reviews lately so I'd really appreciate your feedback :)**


	55. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Three

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Two

Danielle lets out a long sigh as she absent mindedly pours a bag of lionfish spines into her cauldron. She couldn't care less about the marks she got on her midterms. School didn't matter anymore, so why bother? The concept had been hard for her to come to terms with in the beginning; seeing as she was a Ravenclaw and all, but eventually she realized that there were more important things that required her attention. There just simply wasn't enough time to excel in both school and the war efforts.

"Well jeez, you don't have to look so depressed," Blaise Zabini's voice cuts through her thoughts causing her to look over at the boy irritably. "Shouldn't you be excited? It's the last day of classes before break."

"Yippee," Danielle says with fake enthusiasm. She was anything but excited about Christmas break. Her stomach had been in knots the entire week with nerves and fear about going back to the Manor. There was just so much uncertainty about that situation. So much could go wrong for her there. One wrong move, like the time Danielle had pulled her wand on Draco when he tried to keep her from leaving the manor before, and the Malfoy's could have her severely punished. One slip of the tongue and the death eaters could find out that she wasn't on their side and that she was close to Harry Potter and torture her for information. Blaise frowns at her obvious distress.

"You're going to force me to ask you what's wrong aren't you?" he asks and Danielle can't help but smile at his teasing. She had gotten used to Blaise's company by now, and actually looked forward to it. He kept her on her toes.

"I wasn't planning on it," She tells him. Blaise narrows his eyes at her for a second before smirking.

"That's just as well," He tells her proudly, "This means I'm free to ask you of my own accord." Danielle tilts her head in slight amusement as Blaise asks her, "So Ms. Danielle Emmings, what seems to be troubling you today?"

"I'm returning to Malfoy Manor for Christmas break," Danielle decides just to tell Blaise the truth. There was the potential risk of him informing the Malfoy's that she didn't really like being around them, but if Blaise wanted to get her in trouble with Lucius and Narcissa he could have done so plenty of times already.

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire, huh?" Blaise says sympathetically. "Shouldn't be too bad though; should it? You spent the whole summer over there. Another two weeks or so should be a breeze."

"I won't be returning after the holidays," Danielle explains while looking down. "I'll be staying there permanently… at least until the war is over."

"You'll have Draco there at least," Blaise offers as a way to make her feel better.

"Everyone keeps saying that," Danielle scrunches up her nose at the comment.

"I thought the two of you were getting on a little better these days," Blaise questions out of curiosity.

"Just because we get along doesn't mean I want to …" Danielle let her voice trail off because she wasn't sure how to finish her statement, "It's just confusing. I could stay here at the school if I wanted to, but my engagement to Draco makes it tough to help my friends. Tracy is the one that actually suggested I go back. 'Draco needs you' she said, 'Remember what you promised Dumbledore.' I mean, seriously, when did all of Draco's needs become my responsibility?"

Blaise lets out a small laugh, "I don't think it's so much of you being responsible for his needs as it is you being the only one who cares about them." Danielle immediately begins feeling uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation. Even though she and Draco had come to the agreement that they were in fact friends now, Danielle still felt odd about the emotions and feelings between them. The guy had spent the duration of his school years so far causing the people that Danielle was now friends with as much grief as possible. Most of those people still hated his guts. Even Danielle had strong negative feelings for the guy not even a year before. She felt strange about the complete u-turn their relationship had made. She felt even stranger when other people brought it up because of the awkwardness she felt for the topic.

"Well, what about the needs of my friends and the needs of my sister?" Danielle asks Blaise then, "I think they are a little more important."

"All your friends in Dumbledore's army will be able to help each other out like they've been doing this whole year," Was the shocking reply. Danielle hadn't expected Blaise to openly talk about the DA. She still wasn't even sure about which side of the war Blaise supported, or if he even supported any. "And as for your sister," He continues, "I'm quite positive that she will be safe under the watch of Ross, Longbottom, and the Weaslette."

"You think I should go back to the manor then?" Danielle asks.

"You really want MY opinion?" Blaise asks looking a bit surprised.

"Well… yeah," Danielle says feeling a little embarrassed. "You know Draco better than anyone else that I'm friends with. And Tracy and the others don't think like you do. I just thought that you might have a different perspective on everything."

"To be honest, I probably know little more about Draco than most people do. Even though I grew up with him, I've still only seen what Draco has allowed me to see; at least for the most part. Although lately, he has surprised me; asking me and Theo to watch out for you… I still can't decide if that's totally Slytherin of him or the complete opposite. We're supposed to watch out for our own interests you know? Of course, for him, that might include you."

"That's ridiculous," Danielle crosses her arms. "He and I are friends at most. I know he cares about my well being to a certain degree, but you're making it sound much more extreme than it really is. We were forced to be around each other so we pretty much had no choice but to learn to deal with each other. "

"You think the two of you only formed a friendship because of the engagement and because you were forced to live in the same house for a little while?" Blaise asks in a tone that made Danielle feel like she was being tested.

"Well, kind of" Danielle admits hesitantly, "I mean, war is a stressful and emotional thing. Draco is expected to just act a certain way and believe certain things without question. I'm sorry, but I don't care how ruthless and cruel some people think they are, war affects everyone emotionally at some level. Draco had no outlet for everything he was thinking and feeling until I gave him one. It makes sense that we would form some sort of connection after disclosing such personal information."

"Yeah, and as far as anyone else is concerned, Draco doesn't even have emotions to disclose. He didn't just share his feelings with you because you allowed him to. You earned his trust and respect somehow, and that isn't something you can force or fake," Blaise shakes his head at Danielle as if he thought she was ridiculous. "It's sort of messed up that you dismiss his feelings so easily when he's apparently made some sort of mental break through because of you."

This comment offended Danielle, "You act like he has some sort of unconditional affection for me, but we both know that he's still a Slytherin. Yes, he wants me safe, but that's only because he needs someone to go to who won't judge or punish him when he's feeling overwhelmed, scared, or confused. I know that if it came down to it, it would be him over me. After all of this is over I'm sure he and I will go back to how it was when we first met. I'll be the low class, daughter of the divorced Emmings family and embarrassment to the wizarding world, and he'll be the rich, powerful, pureblood, Malfoy King!"

After her rant, Blaise just stared at her with wide eyes. "Emmings, I think I know what your problem is," He finally says after a moment. "You're terrified of him."

"I most certainly am not!" She snaps back. How dare Blaise suggest such a thing?! She had never backed down from a fight or even ran away from him in fear; not even when she'd found out he had taken the dark mark and become a death eater. Blaise obviously didn't know her at all.

"You're only angry because it's true," He tells her looking extremely amused.

"I don't like you very much right now," Danielle says in annoyance.

"You said you wanted my opinion," Blaise then says with a sigh, "So here it is. Go back to Malfoy Manor and keep doing whatever you've been doing. If you do that, you don't need to worry."

"Worry?" Danielle asks irritably, "About what?" The things Blaise was saying were confusing Danielle. Draco was the least of her worries at the manor. The thing she feared was losing her temper with the Malfoys, the other death eaters, or worse. If she angered someone while staying at the Manor, there was nothing she could do to save herself. She'd be trapped there with no way to escape. That was what terrified her; not Draco.

"Well I can't give you all the answers can I, Ms. Ravenclaw?" Blaise asks, "That would take all the fun and suspense out of it."

"You haven't given me any answers; not really" Danielle sighs in defeat, "I feel like you're talking in riddles, or that you don't know what you're talking about at all."

"And I feel like I might be extremely bored after break without you around," Blaise sighs back dramatically before grinning, "I do hope that we can part on good terms though. Something about you leaving with negative feelings towards me doesn't sit right."

"Oh yes, I forgot the Slytherin way. I'm supposed to worship the ground you walk on, right?" Danielle asks with a short laugh. Blaise smiles back, "It would be interesting to see, but you don't have to." Danielle shakes her head in amusement. She was still annoyed with him, but she decided to let it go for now. She didn't want to go back to the Malfoy's with a bad image of Blaise. He had been decent to her so far, and she hoped that even though his words today had been confusing to her that he had still been at least trying to give her helpful advice. She was pretty sure that he wouldn't try to anger or offend her on purpose, so she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe with time his words would make more sense, but for right now Danielle didn't know what to think.

* * *

**Alright, so lets hear it then, who here thinks Blaise is spot on in his evaluation of Danielle and who thinks he's way off the mark? haha I can't wait to hear what you all have to say about this last part :)**


	56. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Four

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Four

"Danielle! So glad you decided to return for the holidays!" Mrs. Malfoy greets Danielle as she steps out of the fireplace with Snape into the familiar entrance hall of Malfoy Manor. Instead of taking the Hogwarts express, Snape had arranged for Danielle to use the fireplace in his office to get back to the Malfoys.

"Where else would I go but home?" Danielle asks trying to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"Ah! It seems you've finally come to your senses," Lucius Malfoy grins proudly and pats Snape on the back. "Looks like sending Ms. Emmings back to Hogwarts was a good idea after all! You've done well in straightening her out Severus. I should have known I could count on you."

Snape raises his eyebrows at Danielle in amusement before turning back to the Malfoy's. "Hogwarts must have taught her just how good she actually had it here with you Lucius." The tone of his voice almost made Danielle feel like he knew her reasons and motives for coming back, and thought it was amusing that Lucius was misinterpreting her behavior. Danielle thought it was odd that Snape hadn't seemed to have told the Malfoy's about any of her misbehavior over the past few months. The old potions professor had to know that she was a member of the DA by now. Why hadn't he sold her out?

"Where's Draco?" Danielle asks to change the subject. She hated seeing Snape looking even a little bit amused or happy about anything, but it made her even angrier that he was finding some sort of entertainment out of her. The man had both betrayed and murdered Dumbledore. Danielle really did want to know where Draco was too though. She thought for sure that he would have been there to greet her since he had wanted her back so badly before. Perhaps he was on some sort of mission or something. And there was always the possibility that he had no idea that she was coming. It wouldn't be the first time the Malfoys neglected to keep their son informed.

"Draco is in his room," Mrs. Malfoy says and Danielle notices she looks worried, "recovering."

"Recovering?" Danielle asks loudly, feeling herself tense immediately with worry "Is he sick?"

Narcissa turns her face away from Danielle so Lucius spoke for her. "He will not be out for a few days." That didn't answer Danielle's question. She immediately felt concerned for her Slytherin… friend. Yes, he was her friend. She had to constantly remind herself of that fact now because after her talk with Blaise she was feeing even more uncertain. But, Draco was her friend and perhaps something terrible had happened to him. Maybe it was a good thing that Danielle had decided to come back after all. Even through her confusion she felt that she needed to go to him as fast as she could.

"Inky!" Lucius calls and the house elf appears at his side. "Please assist Danielle in taking her things up to her room."

"Yes Master!" Inky squeaks before grabbing Danielle's trunk and dragging it toward the stairs.

"Thanks again for letting me come back Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," Danielle bows her head down to the two death eaters before following the house elf up to her room.

"Would Misses Emmings like me to unpack her trunk?" Inky asks excitedly.

"I'd like two things actually," Danielle tells the creature. "First, I'd like it if you just called me Danielle from now on." For some reason, being called Misses Emmings felt too formal for her. She didn't like how the house elf was calling her that as if she was somehow superior. Danielle didn't want Inky to be afraid of her, or to feel intimidated by her, or to feel like he was beneath her in some way. Danielle just wanted Inky to treat her like a friend.

"Inky could never do that!" The house elf squeaks looking a little frightened.

"How about a compromise then?" Danielle asks, "How about Ms. Danielle?"

"I suppose I could do that," Inky says before hesitating, "Ms. Danielle."

"Good," Danielle smiles, "Now, the second thing I need is for you to take me to Draco's room."

"Nobody is supposed to be going into Master Draco's room though Ms. Danielle," Inky tells her.

"Mrs. Malfoy told me that Draco is recovering right now," Danielle tells the elf, "Has he seen a healer? Do you know what happened to him?"

"Master Draco is not allowed to be seeing a healer Miss," Inky says hesitantly, "He-who-must-not-be-named has forbidden it. They say it is Master Draco's fault he was hurt so now he must deal with the consequences." Anger at Voldemort, and fear for Draco bubbled up inside Danielle.

"Please take me to him Inky," Danielle says through her clenched teeth, "I'm his fiancée and I'd say that gives me just as much a right as anyone else to decide what consequences Draco deserves."

"What if the Master or Lady Malfoy get angry?" Inky asks fearfully.

"I will tell them that I went and found his room on my own," Danielle promises, "I won't let them punish you."

"Inky doesn't want you to get punished either," The elf tells her.

"It'll be worth it if I can help Draco and make sure that he's okay," Danielle replies.

"Ms. Danielle is very nice" Inky sighs with a slight smile. "Follow me; I'll take you to him." Danielle blushes a little at the house elf's compliment before nodding and gesturing for him to lead the way. Inky leads her down the hall, around a corner, up a stairwell, and then down another hall before stopping at the right door. "He's in here Ms. Danielle," Inky whispers.

"Thank you very much," Danielle tells the elf. "I'll be able to find my own way back." The house elf nods and then disappears as Danielle puts her ear up to the door. She was actually a bit scared about how bad a shape Draco might be in. What if there was nothing she could do? She knocks lightly on the door, but hears no response. So, she decides to just turn the knob and open the door to let herself in.

"Hello?" Draco's voice croaks out from his bed sounding a little nervous. He didn't sit up or anything though which worried Danielle.

"It's me," She whispers as she walks over to the bed slowly. She couldn't help but wince at what she finds. Draco looked like he had been punched in the face over and over again. He had a black eye and his lip was split and scabbed over. It looked like his nose had been broken as well. There were huge bruises all over his face.

"Danielle?" Draco asks and tries to turn his head but moans in discomfort, "Your back?"

"Yes, tell me what happened to you," Danielle tells him as she starts going through the encyclopedia of healing spells in her head. She had also packed up a few things from the medicine cabinet in the room of requirement before she left the school which might help. "Your face…"

"You should see the rest of me," Draco mumbles and then lets out a barely recognizable laugh.

"Seriously though, what happened?" Danielle asks again. He looked worse than anyone she had treated in the DA. She couldn't believe that Draco's parents were able to sit around and do nothing while their son was in such critical condition. Danielle had only just discovered him and she could feel her heart racing with worry.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt and Reamus Lupin happened," Draco mutters. "I was sent out to search some of the homes belonging to members of the order of the phoenix with some of the other death eaters. We were looking for information about where Potter could be, but we ended up getting attacked instead."

"I'm going to try and help you" Danielle tells him quietly. She felt terrible because Draco didn't even want to go on these missions. And Tracy had told her about Kingsley and Lupin before. They were some of the strongest wizards in the order. Draco was lucky to be alive.

"You came back," Draco mumbles suddenly before shutting his eyes, causing Danielle to panic a little.

"Draco, how long have you been like this?" she asks in a louder voice. If it had happened recently and he was losing consciousness, that would be a bad sign. She was hoping he was just tired.

"I don't know," He tells her with his eyes still closed, "a day?" Danielle relaxed then. If there was something immediately fatal wrong with him, he wouldn't have lasted this long without medical attention. He was still in a lot of pain though, and Danielle knew she would have to make sure to check for internal wounds and magical damage before deciding if he was really going to be okay or not.

"I'm going to go back to my room and get a few things," She tells him. She wasn't sure if he was still awake so she put a hand on his arm to get his attention, "I'll be back in just a moment."

"Don't leave," he mutters.

"I'm not leaving," Danielle states feeling a little flustered by his request, "I just need to get some things from my trunk. They'll make you feel better."

"Fine," Draco replies with another groan, "But hurry back."

"I will," Danielle promises before hurrying back to her room. All her uncertainty and confusion from before had just taken a backseat to her concern for Draco's health. She didn't like seeing him in so much pain. It made her incredibly angry. It was ridiculous that Voldemort would deny Draco any sort of help. It wasn't his fault that he was attacked. This was war, and people were going to get hurt; especially when you put a terrified 17 year old up against two adult wizards who both have previous war experience. Danielle hoped that someone would massacre Voldemort so that they could keep him from seeing a healer to make him suffer. It just wasn't fair that Draco was being put through this: it was completely wrong.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to stay here," Ginny sighs as she plops down into a chair in the kitchen of the safe house the order had set up for the Weasleys. "I wanted to go back to the burrow."

"We can't stay at the burrow anymore," Mr. Weasley sighs sadly. "After Ron was spotted helping Harry break into the ministry of magic a few months ago, the death eaters went there instantly to try and find out what we knew about the whole thing."

"Couldn't you just fight them off?" Abby asks, "Tracy told me that you got the death eaters that attacked the wedding to leave."

"It's a bit more complicated now," Mrs. Weasley sighs as she prepares dinner. "The death eaters have been hitting all the houses belonging to known members of the order of the phoenix recently. The fact that our family is so supportive of Harry and that our son is now known to be traveling with him only makes us more of a target. I still can't believe those three broke into the ministry. I don't know what they were thinking! I knew letting them go out on their own was a bad idea. They're just too young to be dealing with something so serious like this without any help!"

"Calm down Molly. We don't even know why they were there. It might have been something important." Mr. Weasley defends the three Gryffindors.

"More important than their lives?" Mrs. Weasley puts her hands on her hips and frowns at her husband.

"Perhaps it was," Mr. Weasley says sadly.

"Were you there when they broke in?" Tracy asks the elder Weasley then. She knew that breaking into the ministry was worth the risk if Harry had been able to find a horcrux. She didn't want to think about how horrible it would have been if he was caught though. "Did you get to see Harry and the others?"

"I was there but I didn't get to see them since they were using polyjuice potion," Was his response. "I just hope they were able to accomplish whatever it is they were trying to do. They've increased the ministry's security considerably since then. It'll be almost impossible for them to get back in."

"You don't go to work though still, do you dad?" Ginny then asks looking concerned, "If the death eaters are targeting our family, you can't possibly get away with going into the ministry every day."

"You're right about that. Serving the order is my job now," Mr. Weasley smiles at his daughter optimistically. "We'll be alright though. The death eaters won't think to look for us here."

"Not to mention Lupin and Kingsley have put up some extremely strong wards around the area for us," Mrs. Weasley says sounding grateful to have such protection. Mr. Weasley nods before standing to greet his oldest son Bill who had just walked in. "Ah, Bill!" He cries, "Great timing! Ginny, Tracy, and their friend Abby have just gotten home for Christmas break!"

"Bill!" Ginny smiles wildly and runs to her brother to hug him. Tracy frowned as she thought of her own brother back in the states. She missed him and her mother terribly. She wondered if it would be safe to send them something letting them know she was still alive, and safe. She'd have to ask Mr. Weasley about it later.

"I hear you and the other DA members have been giving Snape a rough time," Bill smirks down at his sister proudly and ruffles up her hair.

"THAT is NOT funny Bill!" Mrs. Weasley frowns then looks at Ginny. "I remember we specifically told you to keep a low profile!"

"Mom! Seriously? You can't expect me to do NOTHING!" Ginny pouts and throws out her arms pleadingly.

"Yes! That is exactly what I expect! You are only 16 Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley raises her voice.

"I am perfectly capable of defending myself!" Ginny argues. "Plus, I'm not alone! Everyone in the DA looks out for each other!"

"What if something happens to you? What would I do? It's bad enough I have to worry about Fred and George being caught doing their Potterwatch and Ron and the others getting picked up by snatchers!" Mrs. Weasley and Ginny continued to argue as Bill comes over and asks Tracy if they could go and talk in the next room. He needed to ask her something. Tracy followed him curiously. She wasn't really friends with Bill so it was sort of weird for him to want to talk to her alone. He had seemed nice enough when she'd met him at his wedding though.

"How are you?" He asks her once they are alone.

"Hanging in there" Tracy laughs a little feeling like this was a bit random.

"You're still dating Harry right?" Bill comes right out and asks. Tracy was a little surprised by the question but she nodded to indicate that she was. She remembered Bill telling her before that Harry had bragged about her to the eldest Weasley sibling quite a bit the previous summer and blushed at the memory. She wondered why he was asking her about this though. "I was just wondering if you knew what he's been doing. Did Harry tell you about the job he was given from Dumbledore?"

"Why do you want to know?" Tracy asks quickly. She hated when people asked her questions like this. They knew that she wouldn't be able to tell them anything. Harry had made it quite clear that his quest was to remain a secret.

"I don't need to know what they're doing or anything," Bill reassures before sending a nervous glance toward the door, "I just need to know if you know about it."

"I know what they're doing. I don't know where they are or anything though." Tracy says cautiously. She trusted Bill, but talking about this made her a little uncomfortable; especially since Bill appeared to feel awkward about it as well.

"I thought so," Bill lets out a sigh of relief. "This might sound strange since we don't know each other that well, but I'd like you to come over to my house one day while you're on break to visit me and my wife Fleur."

"That IS a strange request," Tracy frowns. "Why do you want me to come over? And what does that have to do with Harry?"

"I really can't talk about this here," Bill tells her looking serious. "I probably look like a total creep right now, but there is something, well, someone I really need your help with."

"Who?" Tracy questions feel even more confused now. Why would Bill need her help specifically? There were stronger, and more experienced witches and wizards that Bill could talk to in the order. "Why are you asking me for help in private? Why can't anyone else know about it?"

"It's a secret," Bill admits. "If my mom or anyone else found out about it they would freak out. You're the only one who knows about Harry's mission so you're the only one who can help."

"I don't know." Tracy looked at Bill skeptically. This was really weird. She had no idea what Bill could need from her that he couldn't get from anyone else, and that fact that he was being so secretive was making her hesitate to agree.

"You don't have to come over for long," Bill promises. "But it's really important."

"Well, I suppose that would be ok. Just let me know when," Tracy finally agrees. She still felt a little strange about Bill's request but he was in the order and he was a member of the Weasley family. Everyone trusted him, so she should too.

* * *

**So, what do you all think about the state Danielle found Draco in? And what do you think Bill wants Tracy for? **


	57. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Five

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Five

"Drink this," Danielle tells Draco after uncorking a small vial she'd brought from her room. She had been up all night trying to brew a potion that would relieve the Slytherin boy of some of his pain. After some poking, prodding and a lot of questioning about what exactly happened to him the night before, Danielle had come to the conclusion that Draco had just taken a pretty good beating and that there was no need to worry about any curses or other magical ailments; which was a relief. She hadn't been able to get a real good assessment of the damage before though because he'd been so tired, but she was pretty sure she'd be able to help him. The potion she had made during the night hadn't been too difficult, but Danielle had been extremely worried that Lucius and Narcissa would somehow find out what she was doing. She wondered just how much trouble she would get in for blatantly going against Voldemort's orders.

"This smells awful," Draco scrunches up his nose as he brings the vial to his face. His head was propped up with pillows because it was still too hard for him to sit up by himself. His lip was still split and scabbed, and he was covered in bruises.

"Just drink it," Danielle repeats before pulling out a different small jar out of her bag.

"What's that?" Draco asks after he'd drained the liquid from the vial. He grimaced at the taste.

"It's a special paste that will heal your bruises," Danielle explains as she twists the top off the jar. "There are spells that do the same thing, but those wouldn't be as effective because of the extent of your injuries."

"You're going to put that stuff on my face?" Draco asks, groaning as he strains his neck to try to get a look at the pasty goop. Danielle nods.

"You told me last night that your ribs were hurting as well," She tells him as she dabs a bit of the substance on her finger and spreads it under Draco's black eye. "I'm going to have to look to make sure you haven't broken anything. You probably have more bruising around there as well."

"Why did you come back?" Draco changes the subject when Danielle kneeled down and started poking around on his side. He tried not to wince at the pain; she tried not to wince at how black and blue he was.

"Its Christmas break," was her response. She frowned when she caught a glimpse of the three long scars across his chest and stomach that Harry had accidently given him the year before during one of their arguments. Danielle wondered how many near death experiences Draco was going to have to live through before this war was finally over. He sure was having a rough time of it so far.

"Why didn't you just stay at the school?" Draco continues his interrogation, "Did my parents make you come back?" He then clenches his eyes shut as Danielle begins applying more medicine to his discolored skin. She felt terrible after every whimper of pain that escaped from him.

"They didn't make me," she admits, "I chose to come back." Draco opened his eyes and looked at her curiously.

"What about Ross, and your sister and everything?" He mumbles, "You said before that you weren't going to leave them."

"My friends can manage without me," Danielle sighs, "and none of them really minded me coming back… well, Seamus was a little annoyed but…"

"You still talk to that tosser?!" Draco raises his voice and moves to sit up. He yelps in pain though and falls back down, gasping for breath as beads of sweat begin to form on his forehead.

"Really?" Danielle asks in annoyance. Draco narrows his eyes at her but doesn't say anything because his teeth were still clenching in pain. She shakes her head and goes back to working on her healing.

"You really do make poor choices when it comes to company, Emmings" The blonde hisses after a few minutes.

"Really? Because I have just recently made the choice to leave Seamus to be here for _you_, MALFOY" Danielle snaps irritably. Draco's eyes widen for a second both out of shock at her confession and at her use of his last name. The angry look comes back in an instant though.

"Just for the holidays," he accuses.

Danielle frowns before standing and covering Draco back up. "I wasn't planning on going back to Hogwarts at all actually, but if this is how you're going to treat me I think I might change my mind." She gathers up her things and shoves them in her bag.

"What are you doing?" Draco asks quickly.

"Going back to my room," Was the angry reply.

"Don't!" Draco shouts looking a little frantic.

"That paste needs time to work. I'll come back to see if there is anything else I can do later," Danielle states as she heads to the door. Before she leaves she turns around and softens her voice, "The potion I gave you should kick in soon; try and rest." After that she didn't give him time to respond before walking out.

* * *

"Hello, this is rodent and rapier!" George Weasley announces into his microphone.

"Welcome to another edition of Potterwatch!" Fred adds.

"Today we'd like to start by addressing some of the rumors about Harry Potter," George says, "Many people are starting to fear that good old Harry has abandoned us because there haven't been any sightings or news about his whereabouts in quite a while."

"Some people think that he might even be dead," Fred continues. "Trust us when we say that if Harry was dead, the death eaters would let EVERYONE know."

"And just because we haven't heard from our favorite boy-who-lived in a while, doesn't mean he isn't out there fighting and working just as hard as all of us," George declares, "Would you agree rapier?"

"Right you are rodent!" Fred winks over at his twin, "We all know about the growing stack of heroic stories involving Harry. He's faced many horrible things in his life. He never gave up, and he won't give up now; especially with so much at stake."

"In other news, the ministry has taken to using Dementors to do their dirty work," George announces sadly, "the terrible creatures are crawling around many popular wizarding areas like Hogsmead and Diagon Alley."

"As I'm sure you're all aware, the patronus charm is the only thing that can protect you from these soul sucking monsters," Fred informs, "we recommend that everyone continue practicing their 'expecto patronum' just in case."

"Are you giving our listeners homework?" George asks.

"Better than the Dementor's kiss," Fred shrugs.

"Very true," George agrees, "Now, I think it's time for us to move on to our Pals of Potter segment."

"We are very pleased to have a returning guest today," Fred flicks a switch to turn Tracy's microphone on. "I hope you all remember Thunder. She was one of our first guests featured on Potterwatch. How have you been, Thunder?"

"Fortunately I've been okay, considering how terrible things have gotten since the last time I've been on," Tracy leans into her mic; praying that Harry was somewhere out there listening to her.

"Do you have any safety tips for our listeners today?" George asks.

"Yes," was the answer; "I'm sure most people think this is obvious, but the death eaters are not shy about using unforgivable curses. The killing and torture curses are pretty easy to spot, but the imperious isn't. It's a horrible truth, but the fact that this curse is being used at all means that we need to be conscious of everyone around us. My advice is to just keep an eye on your friends and family for odd or suspicious behavior. Many people worry about being hounded down by a death eater or you-know-who himself when it could be that they're using someone that you trust against you." Tracy paused for a second; remembering her experience with the imperious curse. Amycus Carrow had used it on her to try and make her torture Abby. "It's a serious issue that could happen to anyone," Tracy goes on, "just be vigilant and be smart."

"Good advice," Fred nods at Tracy approvingly. "And what are your thoughts on the increasing number of snatchers that the ministry is hiring to go around rounding up anybody that they deem undesirable?"

"I haven't actually encountered a snatcher yet," Tracy admits, "But I've heard rumors that they aren't all that bright. There are a lot of them though so don't get too overconfident. By now, most people being targeted by the ministry are on the run which makes them even more vulnerable. I guess my best advice would be to not travel alone; because the snatchers don't."

"Very good," George agrees, "Now I'm sure you'd like to send a message out to Harry."

"Yes," Tracy replies, "Harry… I'm not sure how it is wherever you are, but back at home it's getting pretty scary. I hope you're not giving up hope though because we sure aren't. Being disconnected from it all, you probably forget how much of an inspiration you truly are. You give people hope Harry, trust me, I've seen it firsthand. People of all ages and backgrounds, they are coming together to fight. Stay strong Harry, and remember that you aren't alone in this."

"Well said!" Fred pats Tracy on the arm.

"And that brings us to the end of another Potterwatch," George wraps up, "The next password will be Albus, so stay tuned!"

* * *

"What do you think you're doing?!" Danielle asks when she comes back to Draco's room the next day to see him up and moving around. He ignores her for a moment as he grabs his black, death eater cloak off the back of a chair to wrap around himself. His split lip looked a lot better, his nose was back to normal, and the bruises were significantly lighter, but Danielle could see that he was limping and still in a lot of pain.

"There is a meeting today," Draco grunts out as he hobbles over to his nightstand to snatch up his wand. "My father came this morning to tell me that I'm expected to be there."

"I don't think so," Danielle snaps. "You aren't fully healed yet! You need more rest!"

"According to the dark lord I've been given plenty of time." Draco moves back towards his desk to grab his death eater mask.

"That's ridiculous!" Danielle states angrily. "If you go out like this you're just going to be an easy target for the order!"

"He doesn't care," Draco looks at Danielle warily.

"Well I do!" Danielle says firmly and Draco smiles a little.

"What are you going to do? Walk up to the dark lord and demand that he let me stay home?" Draco asks sounding amused.

"I would if I could," Danielle shrugs.

"How very Gryffindor of you," He teases. Danielle gives him a glare before reaching into her bag and pulling out another vial.

"At least drink some more of this," She tells him, "It should help you get through the day." Draco nods and takes the vial from her hand. He uncorks the top and drains the contents quickly before handing it back. He hesitates a moment before speaking.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," He mumbles and the apology takes Danielle by surprise. He looks away from his shoes then and meets her eyes, "Did you really come back here to stay?" Danielle just nods her head. "Good," he says before offering Danielle his arm, "Walk down with me?"

"Won't your parents be upset that I'm not locked up?" She asks seriously but links arms with Draco anyway. She didn't want to be confined to just one room for the foreseeable future.

"You healed me" Draco says to answer her question.

"But they don't know that," Danielle replies as they head out into the hall, "And I'm pretty sure we don't want them to know that. Inky told me that you weren't supposed to see a healer. What if they tell you-know-who?"

"Technically, you aren't really a healer," Draco says. Danielle frowns at him.

"I don't think you-know-who cares about details like that," She tells him. She was starting to worry about how Draco would survive if he was sent out on any missions any time soon. She had to keep slowing down to match his pace because he was limping so badly. When they got down to the entrance hall, Lucius, Narcissa, and a large group of death eaters were gathered around.

"Draco!" Narcissa was the first to spot them. She rushed over and took her son's face in her hands, "My goodness! You look much better! How are you feeling?" Draco looked annoyed at being coddled by his mother in front of so many people.

"Well, look at what we have here" Danielle's stomach turned as she looked up into the eyes of Fenrir Greyback. She hadn't seen him since she'd verbally abused him on the Hogwarts express four months ago. He still looked as revolting and evil as ever. Narcissa sent a worried glance over to the werewolf before turning to Draco.

"Why is SHE down here?" She hisses as she gestures to Danielle.

"Because I want her to be," Draco replies coolly. He looks over at the beastly death eater confidently, "Is there a problem, Greyback?"

"Yes, actually" He sneers, "You see, right now your fiancée is deceptively subdued, but behind your back she has quite a mouth on her." Narcissa looked horrified, but Draco kept his face calm and collected.

"I fail to see why you would care," he states.

"I care because that bint got lippy with me while I was searching the Hogwarts express for Potter," Greyback snarls, "She threatened to kill me." Narcissa gasped causing Lucius to make his way over. Draco let out a sigh of annoyance.

"What is wrong with you?" Narcissa narrows her eyes at Danielle and points a finger in the girl's face, "Did everything I tell you at the station go in one ear and out the other?" Danielle held back from slapping the woman's hand out of her face. Instead, she turned her gaze to Greyback.

"What a lovely story," She smiles forcefully, "Except I'm afraid you left out the part where you told me you couldn't wait until you had the opportunity to do with me as you please. The meaning of your words might not have been as clear as mine, but the message was still there. I don't particularly like being threatened either."

"What is going on over here?" Lucius sends a menacing look around the group, "What is Emmings doing down out of her room?" Draco ignores his father and addresses Greyback again.

"My fiancée's behavior may have been a little inappropriate, and it will be dealt with accordingly" Draco says evenly, "but as I recall, my father did warn you against acting out against my family. Telling Danielle that you can't wait to do to her as you please certainly implies malicious intent, and I take offense to it." Greyback looked furious but kept his mouth shut. Lucius raised his eyebrows at his son before turning to his fellow death eater.

"Go back with the others Fenrir," He orders causing the werewolf to let out a growl and bare his teeth. He did as he was told though, but not before narrowing his eyes and sending a glare over at Danielle; one that she returned with fervor.

"You handled that well, Son" Lucius tells Draco which surprises Danielle. She couldn't recall Mr. Malfoy ever complimenting Draco before. "Now come on, and send the girl back upstairs." Danielle knew that down here she would not be able to give Draco a huge good-bye. So, when he turned to her she just gave his hand a squeeze and told him to be safe. After that, she went back up to her room quickly so that she would not cause any more trouble. She was glad that Draco stood up for her in front of Greyback, but she was still worried about him going out on missions with how badly he was still hurt. When she got to her room, she plopped down on the fluffy light blue comforter of her bed to wait for his return and thought 'here we go again.'

* * *

**How are you guys liking Danielle being back at the manor so far? Are you glad she's back? What did you think about Draco being so hurt? Any predictions? Do you think Danielle should be worried about Greyback? I'd love to hear back from more of you with ideas, thoughts, concerns! It's interesting for me to see how you all are interacting with the story :)**


	58. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Six

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Six

Tracy grabbed her wand and made her way downstairs. Bill was going to arrive any second to take her to his house and she had no idea what to expect. Ginny was extremely annoyed because she was Bill's sister and hadn't even gotten to see his new house yet. She had thrown a fit when he had told her that she wasn't allowed to come along. Tracy wondered what Bill had at his house that was such a secret. He had said it had something to do with Harry. He couldn't possibly have a horcrux could he? Nobody else was supposed to know about those.

"I still don't understand why you have to take her Bill," Mrs. Weasley eyes her son in confusion. "Why Tracy?"

"Reamus is the one that suggested it mom," Bill shrugs, "You know how impressed he was by her over the summer. He wanted me to teach her a few things. I learned a lot of advanced spells as a curse breaker for Gringotts you know. We thought Tracy might just be able to handle them. Some of those things could come in handy soon." Tracy had to admit that Bill was pretty good at telling fibs. Hearing him talk about Reamus Lupin though caused Tracy to miss the man. She hoped she'd be able to see both him and Kingsley before going back to Hogwarts.

"Well I don't understand why I can't come along" Ginny glares at her brother. "I won't get in the way! Maybe I want to learn those spells too!"

"It's really difficult stuff Gin," Bill tells her. He was starting to look guilty for upsetting his sister. "And besides, it's not safe for you to travel back and forth right now since your under-aged. You still have the trace on you." Ginny looked furious at being left out of something and Tracy began feeling bad too. She and Ginny had been working together as a team ever since the summer and now they were being given unequal treatment.

"Just make sure you have her back for dinner then," Mrs. Weasley sighs.

"I'll see you when I get back," Tracy tells Ginny before grabbing Bill's arm so he could apparate her to his house. Hopefully the hotheaded youngest Weasley wouldn't be too angry at her for going. The first thing Tracy noticed after they landed was that they were on a beach. It was freezing since it was December and they were right by the ocean. She looked to her right to see a decent sized house covered in shells up on a hill.

"We call it Shell Cottage," Bill explains and then makes his way towards the front door. Tracy was grateful when she stepped into the house that was filled with warmth.

"Bill! You're back!" Fleur walks up to them and plants a kiss on her husband's face. "Ah! You were able to get Tracy away from your Mother, good!"

"Yeah, where's Ron?" Bill asks her and Tracy gasps in shock.

"Ron!? Your brother? He's here?!" She asks and looks around the room. "Is Harry here? And Hermione?"

"Just Ron," Bill sighs and Tracy notices that he doesn't seem happy. This causes Tracy to fill with worry. Perhaps something horrible had happened to Harry and Hermione, and now only Ron was left.

"Did something happen?" Tracy asks quickly. "Did they get separated?" Her heart was pounding in her chest; afraid of what the truth might be. Neither Bill nor Fleur had time to respond though because Ron chose that moment to walk into the room.

"Tracy?!" He widens his eyes in surprise. He runs over to her and pulls her into a tight hug, "Bloody hell!"

"What are you DOING here?" Tracy was still stunned but she embraces Ron back. "Where are Harry and Hermione?! Are they alight?"

Fleur was looking eagerly at Ron for his answers but Bill stepped in before anybody else could speak. "Ron's the reason why I brought you here Tracy." he says. "Nobody else knows he's here. They all still think he's still with Harry and Hermione."

"But why?" Tracy was confused. "Won't they want to know he's ok? You're mother would be thrilled!" She couldn't think of any reason that would justify hiding Ron from his friends and family at the moment. To her it actually seemed a bit cruel to keep them in suspense.

"Why don't you take Tracy upstairs and explain everything to her?" Bill tells his brother. "We'll leave you guys alone. That way you can discuss everything without us overhearing." Tracy followed Ron upstairs to the room that he apparently had been staying at for a couple months now. Tracy was still trying to get over the fact that this was real. Seeing Ron again so soon was unexpected to say the least.

"Ron! I still can't believe your here! You have no idea how good it is to see you again!" Tracy says after Ron closes his door. He casts a silencing charm around them so that Fleur wouldn't be able to get any information about Dumbledore's secret job. Apparently she'd been trying to get clues out of Ron since he'd arrived. He wouldn't put it past her to sneak up and put her ear against the door.

"Yeah…" Ron smiles, "It's great to see you too."

"But why are you here? Where are the others? Is Harry ok?" Tracy had so many questions she didn't know which ones to ask first. Right now she was just worried about the safety of her boyfriend and Hermione.

"I did something terrible," Ron mutters as sits down on his bed and Tracy frowns, not knowing what that meant. "I don't know where Harry and Hermione are."

"How did you get separated?" Tracy asks. Hopefully they hadn't been attacked, or found by snatchers. "Are they alright?"

"As far as I know they're fine, but we didn't get separated. I left." Ron continues to mumble. "I got mad at them and left."

"Mad? Why?" Tracy wasn't sure if she had heard right. Ron, Hermione, and Harry were best friends. Sure they fought and disagreed sometimes, but what could have happened that was so bad that Ron would leave them? What could have been so wrong that he would abandon the hunt for the horcruxes?

"I just lost my temper. It was stupid and I regret doing it." Ron explains sadly. "It's embarrassing."

"Why did you lose your temper? Tell me everything," Tracy pleads. Part of her wanted to get angry with Ron. Finding and destroying the horcruxes was the only way to ensure Voldemort's death and the end of the war. Ron had promised to stick by Harry's side and help him fulfill the prophecy. It was horrible that he had gone back on his word, and left his friends to face the unknown without him. No wonder he didn't want to face his family, or anyone else. They would all be so disappointed in him. Tracy was disappointed in him, but she tried not to let it show. Ron seemed to be beating himself up about it enough as it was.

"It was going really slow," Ron starts his story, "Things got stressful as soon as we left the wedding. We had no idea where to go first, or where to start looking for the horcruxes. We knew we couldn't stay anywhere with people around; we couldn't risk being recognized. So we've been camping out in the countryside; apparating from place to place; never staying anywhere for too long. I thought Harry had been more prepared for this than he was. I thought Dumbledore had given him more to go off of, but I was wrong. We weren't accomplishing anything. Eventually we did manage to track down one horcrux; a golden locket that belonged to Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin house. The same horrible ministry woman that had taken over Hogwarts my fifth year had it."

"That's why you guys broke into the ministry then," Tracy guesses and Ron nods. "And you managed to get it?"

"Yeah," Ron tells her, "But after that we had no idea what any of the other horcruxes could be or even where to start looking. We didn't even know how to destroy the one we had found. So, we just kept moving around; from one wasteland to the next with no idea of how to proceed. Winter was coming, so we were all freezing, dirty, and hungry. And the locket… it does things to you; carrying a piece of you-know-who's soul around. It was affecting all of us; me the most. That's what pushed me over the edge, I think. I was already angry because of how lost we were. I couldn't believe that Dumbledore had left us in such a miserable situation. Harry had all those lessons with him last year, remember? How could they have spent so much time together and have so little to show for it?"

"I never thought about the horcruxes being able to influence people before, but I guess it makes sense. They are one of the darkest most evil pieces of magic around," Tracy's anger was quickly dissolving as she listened to what her friend had been through, and what Harry and Hermione were STILL going through.

"I didn't want to leave," Ron confesses, "Well, I did, but not alone. I didn't want to leave them; just the situation. Right before I left Hermione figured out why Dumbledore left Harry the sword of Gryffindor. In the chamber of secrets, Harry killed that huge basilisk with it. The sword of Gryffindor can absorb things that make it stronger; basilisk venom for example… which is one of the only things that has the ability to destroy a horcrux."

"The sword of Gryffindor can destroy horcruxes?!" Tracy gasps, "Ron! Luna, Neville, Ginny, and I tried to steal the word from Snape's office at the beginning of the school year! If only we'd have been able to succeed. We were ratted out by Pansy Parkinson though… But we can try again when I go back! I'm sure of it! I'll find a way to get it to you!"

"What good will that do?" Ron asks glumly, "I don't even have the locket with me." Tracy sighs and begins to tap her chin in thought.

"Hold on," She says after a moment. "Why would you leave right after discovering something so important? Didn't it motivate you to keep going after finally finding the answer of how to destroy a horcrux?"

"The horcrux altered my thinking," Ron says with guilt, "I'm not blaming everything on the locket, but for some reason when Hermione told me about the sword, all I could think was that this was just one more thing that we needed but didn't have. It was one more thing we were going to have to find. It infuriated me."

"It sounds like you want to go back to them though," Tracy says after a moment, "Why don't you just wait until I find a way to get you the sword and then go back to them?"

"It's impossible," Ron sighs in defeat. "They've been staying in different places every couple of days. And even if I did somehow manage to find where they were, I'd still have a tough time tracking them down. Hermione's been putting up dozens of wards wherever they go to keep people from finding them accidently."

"That does pose a problem," Tracy admits then. "But I should still try and get that sword. Harry will eventually need it. He knows that it's at Hogwarts, so when he comes for it, the DA will have it ready for him."

"You've gotten the DA back together?" Ron then perks up a little, "How is everyone? What's it been like at Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts isn't anything like it was last year," Tracy frowns, "It's terrible. Ginny and I decided pretty early on to get the DA together. We've been communicating mostly with the coins Hermione made since students aren't allowed to talk to each other for the most part. We've been holding meetings in the room of requirement to make as many plans to disrupt Snape and the Carrows as possible. The three run the school like tyrants; their punishments are brutal… cruciatus curse; not fun. But classes hardly matter at all anymore; now it's mostly about survival. The others and I are doing everything we can to help the younger kids, and help anyone who's been hurt."

"Wow, the cruciatus curse?" Ron gasps, "They didn't torture you did they?" Tracy looks down and nods her head.

Ron shakes his head looking even more depressed. "At least you were able to get Abby to stay back in the states. I'd hate to have to worry about her on top of everything else."

"She's not in the states," Tracy admits sadly.

"What?!" Ron shouts; his face turning red in distress, "Why? You told me that she decided not to go back to Hogwarts this year!"

"She did," Tracy explains, "But as soon as Snape saw that she was missing, he brought her back right away."

"That's ridiculous!" Ron stands and starts to pace the room, "Where is she now?"

"With your parents and Ginny at the safe house," Tracy tells him, "We're going to keep her safe; don't worry."

"And Danielle?" Ron asks, "Has anyone heard from her? Is she still with the Malfoys?"

"She came back to Hogwarts at the beginning of term," Tracy reveals, "But she's gone back to the manor for the holidays. She most likely won't be coming back to school after break though, it just isn't safe." Ron looks ready to throw a fit.

"Why do people keep thinking she's safer there?" he asks irritably.

"When the members of the DA act out against the death eaters, we are looked at as rule breakers and trouble makers," Tracy points out, "when Danielle acts out against the death eaters, she is looked at as a traitor because of her engagement to Draco. Which one do you think will get the worse punishment?"

"She's had a rough time of it, hasn't she?" Ron looks down.

"We all have," Tracy reminds him, "we all just have to do the best we can. And for Danielle, that's to play the role of future Mrs. Malfoy."

"I should have never left Hermione and Harry," Ron frowns, "You're all out making a difference and I'm just sitting around."

"There must be a way for you to find them," Tracy says determinedly. "They need you Ron. Don't give up hope!"

"Maybe I'm just not worthy of being Harry's friend," was the sad reply.

"Don't you dare say that," Tracy lectures. "You've been helping Harry out since your first year at Hogwarts. And Dumbledore wouldn't have trusted you with the secret if he didn't know you could handle it."

"Maybe you're right," Ron says before smiling at Tracy as they make their way back downstairs where Bill and Fleur were waiting. "Harry misses you something terrible by the way. I think he really likes you."

"Well that's good to know since he's my boyfriend and everything," Tracy laughs but feels a pang of sadness at the thought of Harry. She missed him a lot. She wished she could just talk to him to find out if he was ok.

"I guess it's about time I take you back to headquarters. My mom's probably starting dinner and she'll have my head if I get you back late," Bill tells Tracy. "Thanks for coming to talk to Ron. I figured it would be ok to bring you to see him. He's been lonely and sad since he's been here."

"Well that is what he gets for leaving his friends!" Fleur crosses her arms and frowns over at Ron.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Tracy says. "Ron will find a way back. I know he will." Ron smiles and thanks her sheepishly.

"Alright though Tracy, you can't tell anyone that you saw Ron. I don't want mom freaking out and a bunch of people rushing over here. Ron will tell them when he's ready." Bill says seriously, "And we still aren't sure if it's very safe for everyone to know. If the death eaters find out any of us talked to Ron, they'd be on us in a second to try and get information about Harry."

"I understand," Tracy tells him. She knew it would be bad for the death eaters to find out where Ron was. That didn't mean it wouldn't be hard not to tell any of the other Weasley's that she had seen him though. They were all so worried about him and she hated keeping something like this from them. But she knew it was necessary.

"Well Ron, I hope you find a way to get back to the others. If you do, tell Harry that I miss him a lot." Tracy tells Ron and he nods his head. "And be careful!"

"You be careful too!" Ron tells her after giving her another hug. "Bye."

* * *

**I know Danielle wasn't in this chapter but I'm hoping you all enjoy Tracy as well. Do you? Plus, this is sort of crucial for the story line. I promise I'll put the next chapter up quicker so that you can catch up with Danielle and Draco :) Also, How was it seeing Ron again? We haven't seen anyone from the 'golden trio' in a while right? Kind of nice to hear back from them.**


	59. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Seven

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Seven

"I'm glad your parents didn't make a big deal about you wanting to let me out of my room," Danielle mumbles as she skims through the books in the large Malfoy Manor library. She was trying to expand her knowledge about healing with magic since it seemed she would need to do so quiet frequently with Draco going out on dangerous missions all the time. The boy in question, who was now sitting and playing Pokémon as he watched her, had been injured once again on his latest outing with the other death eaters. It had made Danielle absolutely livid to see him stumble into her room clutching his left arm, groaning in agony. Perhaps if he'd been given enough time to fully recuperate the first time, he would have been able to move faster to dodge the parasitic curse that would have cost him his arm had Danielle not been there with the counter-spell on hand.

"They still don't want you wandering around the manor on your own," Draco tells her. "But I guess any time out of that room is better than none." Danielle just nods as she continues to browse through the countless books. Being out of her room was nice, but Danielle had to admit that she'd like it better to just leave the manor all together. Ever since she'd been back there and had her run-in with Greyback, she'd been having horrific nightmares about the werewolf breaking into her room at night to carry out his threats from that day on the train. Sometimes in her dreams though, it would be Lucius that appeared to tell her that Draco had not made it back from one of his missions and that she no longer served a purpose to them. After that he would torture her for information with the cruciatus or give her to Greyback as a human chew toy. She supposed it wasn't just the manor inspiring these dreams though, since she also had dreams from back at Hogwarts. She dreamt of Amycus Carrow putting her under the imperious curse and forcing her to hurt her sister, Tracy, and the other members of the DA. Yes, sleep did not provide an escape from the horrors of the war. Danielle suspected it was the same for Draco since he would often come to talk to her at night, claiming he wasn't exhausted even though she could tell he was fighting to keep his heavy eyelids open every time.

"Do your parents still talk to mine sometimes?" Danielle suddenly asks to break the comfortable silence. Draco looks up from the game and Danielle adds "I haven't seen or heard from my mom or dad in forever." The last time she had seen her father was a year and a half ago when she had first moved away from the U.S. The last time she had seen her mother was the day she'd gotten engaged to Draco the previous Christmas. She hadn't even been able to send any word out to either of them since September when Professor McGonagall had agreed to bend the 'no mail' rule for her. It had been too long.

"I think my father might contact your father on occasion, but only for business purposes," Draco admits. He looked uncomfortable with the topic. "I think both my parents are too busy with everything going on here to worry about it."

"Yeah," Danielle looks down, "I just miss them." Draco just gives her a small shrug and goes back to the game boy. "Do you think your parents will invite Blaise to your Christmas Eve party like last year?" Danielle asks to change the subject. Draco frowns but doesn't look up.

"I don't think so," was his short reply. "The guest list is going to be a little more restricted this year."

"Oh, I was hoping to see him" Danielle sighs and she sees Draco's eyes narrow a little, "You know he encouraged me to come back here to stay."

"I didn't know you two were friendly enough with each other to discuss something like that," Draco replies quickly. Danielle rolls her eyes.

"You're the one who told him to keep an eye on me," She points out.

"Yes, keep an eye on you… not buddy up to you," Draco bites out. Danielle laughs which just annoys Draco further.

"Am I only allowed to have one Slytherin friend at a time?" she asks in amusement.

"Yes," he tells her, "So choose wisely."

"I don't know if I want a friend who steals my gameboy when I'm not looking," Danielle teases. She tried not to think about all the other very real negative aspects about Draco that would prompt her to deny his friendship. If she did choose wisely, Blaise would be the obvious choice. He'd never made fun of her, threatened her, locked her up, or caused her any grief.

"I didn't steal it," Draco argues, "I borrowed it!" Danielle can't help but laugh at that. Her laughter caused Draco to lighten up a bit too and he looked less annoyed. "So what else has Zabini told you?" He asks her a second later, trying to look innocent, "Besides giving you his permission to leave him to come here."

"He did not give me permission to do anything!" Danielle gasps and walks over to Draco, "You should know that if even _you_ can't control me that he certainly wouldn't be able to."

"Are you trying to say that I'm more powerful than he is?" Draco gives her a nice big arrogant smirk.

"No," Danielle smiles back, "I'm trying to say that you're meaner."

"And richer," Draco adds coyly and Danielle scoffs.

"Not as charming though," She challenges.

"I'm better looking," Was his response.

"That's debatable," Danielle grins and Draco shakes his head.

"You know Emmings…" He begins to say but suddenly lets out a growl and clutches his forearm. The smile slips from Danielle's face and a look of worry takes its place. Voldemort was summoning him. Draco looks to her and the pleading look on his face causes Danielle to feel terrible because there was nothing she could do. He had to go.

"Go on," She tells him quickly, "I'll be here when you get back." He nods his head and stands up.

"Stay in your room," He says to her seriously as he hands her the game.

"I will," she promises, "be safe." He nods his head again before running from the room.

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" the Weasley twins cheer as they walk into their family's safe house with Remus Lupin and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Mrs. Weasley had decided to have a little get together for the order to celebrate the holiday.

"What's in the bag?" Abby asks Fred who was carrying a large sack over his shoulder.

"Gifts for you, of course" He tells her with a huge grin.

"It's the best of the best from our joke shop," George explains as he begins pulling different products out to show her.

"Alright!" Abby exclaims happily, "Did you bring me some of your daydream charms?"

"You've only known the girl a week and you're already a bad influence on her," Mrs. Weasley sighs. The twins weren't paying attention to their mother though; they were too busy leading Abby out of the room so that they could go through all the toys and gadgets together. Ginny followed them in the hopes that she might get something from her brothers as well. Tracy stayed in the living room with Lupin and Kingsley. She was more interested in hearing about what they'd been doing for the order.

"Are you still trying to recruit people to our side?" Tracy asks curiously.

"Not so much anymore," Lupin tells her with a sigh. "It wasn't going very well."

"And it isn't helping that the death eaters are targeting us one by one," Kingsley says gravely. "A group of them attacked my home just recently. Remus and I managed to chase them out, but not before they tore my whole house apart."

"That's terrible Kingsley," Tracy frowns, "I'm so sorry."

"It was nothing that can't be replaced," He tells her appreciatively. "Lupin and I made sure that they didn't escape unscathed either. The Malfoy boy especially is going to think twice before ever crossing wands with us again." Tracy gasped and felt all the color drain from her face as she absorbed that bit of information.

"Malfoy boy?" She asks hesitantly, "You don't mean Draco."

"Yes, Lucius' son" Lupin confirms but frowns as Tracy's obvious distress, "Why?"

"What did you do to him?" She demands. She had to tell herself that if something horrible had happened to Draco; Danielle would have told her using the DA coin. Knowing that he'd been forced to go up against the two men in front of her though caused Tracy to worry.

"Nothing that couldn't be fixed by a good healer," Kingsley shrugs. "I don't see what the big deal is though. He's a death eater. He broke into my home."

"You don't understand," Tracy says "He only goes out with the death eaters because you-know-who will kill him and his family if he doesn't."

"All death eaters will say that if it will get them out of punishment," Kingsley tells her. Tracy sighs, knowing that it looked strange for her to defend Draco.

"It's true for him though," She explains, "Last year he went to Dumbledore to try and get out of working for you-know-who but it didn't work out. He was forced to take the dark mark. You-know-who wants him to die. It's Lucius Malfoy's punishment for dropping the prophecy in the department of mysteries."

"Are you serious?" Lupin looks shocked, "How do you know all of this?"

"My best friend Danielle is engaged to him," Tracy answers, "the Malfoys tricked her parents into arranging them to be married. Danielle is the one who took him to Dumbledore, even though they didn't get along very well at first. Dumbledore promised to help Draco, but he was killed before that could happen."

"Where is your friend now?" Kingsley asks looking serious.

"She's at Malfoy Manor with Draco," Tracy confesses, "she went to stay there with him so that he wouldn't be alone."

"I thought Draco Malfoy was a prejudiced bully just like his father," Lupin states, "I've heard nothing but horror stories about the kid from Harry, Ron, and Hermione."

"He is a prejudiced bully," Tracy nods, "To anyone that doesn't take the time to get a closer look. I'm not saying he's a great guy or anything, but I know he's not a bad one either."

"Well, your friend is brave to do something so selfless for his sake," Lupin says, "I'll keep an eye out for him when I'm out. I can't make any promises, but I'll avoid harming him if I can."

"Same goes for me," Kingsley agrees, "the boy should not have to pay for his father's errors."

"Thank you," Tracy tells them seriously. She couldn't believe that they trusted her opinions of Draco so readily. Hopefully the guy would be a little safer now with two of the orders strongest members going easy on him.

"Alright, enough of the war talk," Fred and George come back into the room then with Ginny and Abby, "Its Christmas! Let's try to be cheerful for once, shall we?" Tracy smiles when the twins and Abby start singing Christmas carols and passing out Santa hats for them all to wear. The mood in the house brightened considerably after that. Tracy couldn't help feeling a little sad though, wondering which secluded corner of the countryside Harry and Hermione were spending Christmas in. She hoped they were safe and warm, and that they had enough food. It was nice being together with the Weasleys, but the best Christmas gift of all would be for the war to end and for Harry to return to her. Tracy hoped those things would come soon.


	60. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Eight

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Eight

"Really Narcissa, I thought you would have at least chosen a Slytherin girl for our dear Draco." Bellatrix Lestrange frowns disapprovingly at Danielle who was standing by Draco's side in the Malfoy Manor ball room. The Malfoys were calling it a Christmas Eve party, but it was really an initiation ceremony for a group of people who were joining the death eater ranks that night.

"The important thing is that she is a pureblood," Narcissa tells her sister. "It may take her a while to get a hang of the job but don't forget that she isn't from here. American purebloods have different standards."

"Low ones, apparently," Bellatrix turns her nose up at Danielle and reaches over to grab a drink off a passing house elf's tray.

Danielle could hear what was being said about her and it made her blood boil. Draco's mother and her sister weren't even trying to keep their conversation private. Bellatrix, the psychotic woman, wanted her to hear. Draco had heard the not-so-friendly words as well and looked over at Danielle to see her glaring in his aunt's direction, shaking with rage. He put his arm around her back to try and calm her down. He knew she was annoyed at being gossiped about, but wanted to remind her not to do anything reckless. Danielle grits her teeth and forces a smile onto her face even though all she could think about was the countless lives the woman currently goading her had taken.

"Ignore them," Draco leans down and whispers to her. Danielle just nods her head. She knew that she couldn't afford to make a scene tonight. Narcissa and Lucius would have her head if she embarrassed them in any way. She just hoped this stupid party would end soon. She wanted to get away from these monsters and out of the ridiculously expensive green gown Narcissa had forced her to wear. It wasn't just the anger that Danielle wanted to escape either, it was the fear. She hardly allowed herself to sleep lately in order to escape the nightmares, but the resulting exhaustion caused her to feel even more paranoid and jumpy. She knew she had to hold it together though. Her survival depended on her portraying a confident, yet obedient pureblood lady. Draco was doing his best to keep her comfortable by keeping her off to the side of the room so that she could avoid talking to the many death eaters mingling around the room. Unfortunately though, they wouldn't be able to avoid everyone. A few moments later, Lucius walked over to them with Snape, the Carrows, Greyback, and Theodore Nott's father. Danielle felt her stomach turn. Why did Draco's dad have to bring all her least favorite people over?

"Good to see you Draco," Amycus Carrow smiles at Draco and shakes his hand, "You're looking well considering the rumors that you were bedridden just over a week ago." Danielle wanted to spit at the man's feet. He had tortured her with the cruciatus curse and smiled as he did it. And, Draco was looking well because SHE had healed him, just as she had healed handfuls of students back at Hogwarts that HE had hurt. Danielle itched to pull out her wand that was hidden in her dress and get payback for all the misery that this one man alone had caused.

"He's a strong boy," Lucius says proudly. "Just like a Malfoy should be." Danielle sees the two Carrow siblings roll their eyes. It seemed that the Malfoys were still losing respect amongst the death eaters. It made Danielle worry about Draco going out with these people. Anything could happen during those missions, and the other death eaters could let Draco get hurt and make it look like an accident.

"I don't think he's a boy anymore Lucius," Greback smirks as he looks between Draco and Danielle. Danielle's face flushed in anger and embarrassment at the lewd insinuations. Draco sensed her irritation and tightened his grip around her. She felt weird having his arm around her so protectively. He was too close. Normally she would have shoved him away and started yelling at him by now, but at the moment it was making her feel better knowing that she wasn't alone.

"It takes a man to do the things that Draco has done," Theodore Nott's father pats Draco on the shoulder. "We were wrong to have ever doubted you before my boy."

"Nott's right. You have proven yourself quite useful Draco," Alecto Carrow agrees. "I'm still impressed that you managed to fix that vanishing cabinet and let us all into the school right under Dumbledore's nose. The old man got what he deserved alright. It was a shame the order had to butt their annoying heads in or we might have been able to take a few mudbloods out while we were there."

Danielle stiffened at the death eaters words. She was furious at Alecto for talking about Dumbledore's death so callously, and she hated hearing muggleborns called such foul names. A familiar wave of guilt also washed over Danielle, as she remembered the hundreds of people who had shown up at Dumbledore's funeral. She remembered how devastated everyone had been in the aftermath of his death. Danielle still blamed herself a little for all of that because she had helped Draco fix the cabinet.

"Yes the order is quite a nuisance," Lucius speaks up then, "They're the ones who put Draco out of commission a few days ago."

"Oh well," Draco sneers and Danielle is surprised by the mask of hatred that overtakes his features, "I'll get my payback on that blood traitor and his filthy half breed next time I see them."

"Get in line boy," Snape pipes in with a scowl, "I'd give anything to end that disgusting werewolf."

Danielle knew they had to be talking about Remus Lupin. She had never met the man before but she knew that Tracy was very fond of him. Danielle didn't want anything bad to happen to him or anyone else who was in the order. She also didn't like hearing Draco talk in this way with these men. She knew he had to do it, but it still didn't sit right with her. She hadn't heard him speak like this in a long time; she'd almost forgotten how cruel he could sound. It made her wonder how much of it was actually an act.

"They'll all be dead before long," Alecto grins happily.

"And then these two can finally tie the knot and get busy on getting you a grandson," Theo's dad laughs as he looks over at Lucius before gesturing to Danielle and Draco. Danielle felt disgusted and almost lost her temper when the group of death eaters laughed at the comment. They were all pigs to talk about her this way right in front of her, as if she couldn't hear. Greyback was eyeing her up and down again now and Danielle turned toward Draco to block his view of her.

"Ah, young Draco has finally decided to bring out his fiancée for all to see."

All the death eaters, including Draco, immediately fell to one knee with their heads bowed. Danielle's stomach gave a nasty turn as she realized who had just walked up. He was tall and wore billowing black robes. He had blood red eyes, two reptilian slits for a nose, and no hair on top of his sickly grey head. Danielle felt weird being the only one standing in the group but she was too afraid to move. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up and her heart began to race inside her chest. She'd never seen something so hideous and evil in her whole life. She was terrified.

"My lord," Lucius spoke first. "I was unaware that you were attending tonight's initiation."

"I am not here for the initiation Lucius," The dark lord spoke and his snake like voice sent chills down Danielle's spine. She wondered how Draco endured being around this villain so often. "You may rise." The five death eaters stood back up and Draco's arm quickly found its way back around Danielle's waist. She was glad to have the contact more than ever now since she was feeling unsteady on her feet. She could have swore that her heart stopped when you-know-who's eyes met hers. This was the man who had murdered Harry's parents and countless others. This was the man that had tried to kill Draco because of something he had no control over. This was the man that she had hoped to never meet. Inside Danielle prayed that he wouldn't try to read her thoughts. She couldn't help having images of Harry flood her mind. He was the only one she knew that had actually fought the dark lord. Danielle hoped that she could be as brave as Harry right now.

"Misses Danielle Emmings," The dark lord states as he continues to meet her gaze, "Ravenclaw." Danielle didn't know what to make of him knowing her by name. Why would he care to remember that kind of information? Why would he acknowledge her at all? She was fairly certain that he hadn't pulled the facts from her head because she knew that a person could usually feel it when their mind was being invaded. Danielle wanted to jump for joy when the evil dark red eyes left hers and turned to Draco's father. "Interesting Lucius, I would have thought you'd want to secure a union with the Parkinsons, or perhaps the Greengrass'. They have two daughters am I right?" Astoria Greengrass; the name popped into Danielle's head without warning. That was the name of the girl Draco had hoped his parents would chose for him to marry one day. Danielle wished it WAS Astoria that stood here in front of Voldemort now instead of her.

"Yes, my lord." Lucius quickly responds. Danielle felt the icy stare of the Dark Lord return to her then and she felt Draco's arm tighten around her again. She was thankful for that because even though she kept her face neutral, her legs were still threatening to buckle underneath her. She had to keep telling herself not to look away, not to show her fear.

"Ravenclaw," Voldemort repeats as if intrigued, "Wit, intelligence, creativity, and wisdom; not traits a Malfoy usually looks for in a wife." He then looks to Draco. "I see you're looking well again. That was a speedy recovery for someone who was apparently on the brink of death not too long ago. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to be more of a disappointment than your father. Perhaps there is hope for you after all."

"To please you is the greatest honor, my lord." Draco bows his head and Danielle nearly gags at how honest his words sounded. How could he act so well? Danielle knew that she would never be able to say those things and have it seem so believable; not even if her life depended on it. Voldemort does not respond to Draco though; he just turns his attention back to Lucius.

"I will be traveling out of the country for a while. I expect you to keep things running smoothly in my absence. I do not wish to be bothered unless it is a matter of utmost importance." The dark lord sneers.

"Yes, I understand, my lord." Lucius nods his head obediently. Voldemort frowns before vanishing in a gust of black smoke. Danielle breathes a sigh of relief. She could feel Draco relax beside her as well. His death grip on her loosened, but he did not remove his arm completely.

"Are you alright?" He asks her after his father and the other death eaters had walked away.

"Yes, I'm fine," Danielle breathes out even though it was a lie. She hadn't expected to ever be face to face with Voldemort, and his sudden appearance at the party had rattled her. Never had she imagined that he would look so evil. He didn't even look human. Danielle wasn't fine at all; she was shaken to the core. What she wanted more than anything now was to drag Draco back up to her room and hide there for the rest of the night. She didn't want her or Draco to ever have to be in Voldemort's vile, wicked presence again. But she couldn't give in to her fear. She wouldn't give anyone the satisfaction. She didn't want to be like Draco's parents, who were now looking just as unnerved as she felt. The two walked around boasting about how powerful and great they were, but fell to their knees and cowered at the feet of a lunatic. No, Danielle would not do that. She would not be intimidated. She had to stay strong, not just for herself, but for Draco too.

"Are you sure?" Draco prods.

"I'm fine," Danielle repeats. "I'll be fine." She spends the rest of the night glued to Draco's side though. She didn't want to wander away from him for even a moment for fear of someone approaching her and making her lose her fragile composure. She would have been relieved to be back in her room after the party had ended, if it weren't for the dreams involving her and Voldemort standing over Dumbledore's crumbled body. He hissed into her ear, telling her that she'd done well before snatching up her left arm and branding her with the dark mark.

* * *

"But Ginny! You have to come back!" Abby grabs onto her fellow Gryffindor's hand as her eyes shimmered with tears. "We need you! It's like you said before, we need to stick together." The redhead smiles sadly and pats Abby's hand.

"I know Abbs," She says comfortingly. "I'm sorry. You'll still have Seamus and Neville to help you out though."

"You don't think there's any chance of changing your mother's mind?" Tracy asks. She wasn't very happy about leaving Ginny behind either, even if the reasons for it were understandable.

"No, she's determined to keep me home" Ginny frowns, "I can't say I blame her. I'm the last of her children that she can keep close. Everyone else is in and out, doing stuff for the order and putting themselves in danger." Tracy did understand everything that Ginny was saying. She felt a little guilty as she thought about Ron being cooped up with Bill at shell cottage. If only she could tell everyone that he was safe.

"What about the law though?" Abby asks desperately, "You have to go back to Hogwarts. Snape will send someone to track you down when he notices you didn't come back, remember?"

"The death eaters are trying to track down the Weasleys anyway," Tracy tells the girl, "Ginny will be safe here. Lupin and Kingsley made sure this house was protected with a lot of powerful spells. Plus, she'll be with the order."

"You know," Ginny then looks at her friend seriously, "My mother said that you guys could stay back as well."

"I can't," Tracy states, "I don't want to leave you behind, but what about the DA? They need all the help they can get. And if Abby and I don't return, Snape isn't going to go after your parents; he's going to go after mine and Abby's."

"I suppose you're right," Ginny gives a small smile. "Don't feel bad about me though. I'm not angry with you for going back. It's actually better this way. Now we have three places covered. You'll have news about Hogwarts, I'll have news about the order, and Danielle will have news about the death eaters."

"Thank goodness for those coins Hermione made," Tracy lets out a small laugh. "We'll all be much more informed now."

"If only Hermione and the others still had their coins," Abby points out, "Then we could talk to them too. I miss them. I miss playing Quidditch with Harry and Ron."

"I'm positive that they miss you too," Tracy assures her, "Those two adore you."

"Oh!" Ginny suddenly gasps, "I've just remembered. Tracy, my father told me that he thinks it should be fine for you to send something out to your mother. He just said that you couldn't be too detailed."

"Of course" Tracy was delighted by this news. "I just want her to know that I'm ok."

"What about me? Can I write to my mom?" Abby perks up.

"I'll put something in my letter about you and Danielle" Tracy replies, "My mom will let your mom know that you're alright."

"Ok, good" Abby nods. Tracy was proud of the small girl for putting on such a brave face. She'd been through a lot already; more than most 12 year olds went through, and she was taking it like a champ.

"Let's go downstairs," Ginny then suggests. "Fred and George are coming over for lunch and I want to ask them if they can get you some things to take back to Hogwarts."

* * *

**So, Danielle has had her first encounter with Voldemort... pretty scary, right? Being surrounded by killers who look down to her and belittle her is hard enough without You-Know-Who around. But, that's war I suppose. :(**


	61. Part Two: Chapter Twenty Nine

Part Two: Chapter Twenty Nine

"I didn't think you'd be this good at wizard's chess," Draco frowns and rubs his chin in thought. He was looking intently down at the wooden game board that sat in the corner of his family's drawing room. Danielle had noticed it one day and decided to challenge Draco to a game. She had to do something to keep her mind busy.

"I'm not that good," she admits to Draco before moving one of her rooks towards his king.

"Going in for the kill now, are you?" he looks up at her half miffed and half amused, "You only start moving your castles once you've got checkmate in your sights." Danielle smiles a little, watching him move a pawn forward in the hopes of getting his queen back on the board.

"You noticed that, have you?" she asks.

"It became obvious to me after our third game," he smirks. "Next time I'm going for your favorite pieces first."

"Maybe then you can win," She teases; sliding her knight up and over to take out the tiny pawn, "Ron never caught on to my strategy in all the times I played him last year." Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth quickly after realizing she'd just said Ron's name out loud. She looks over her shoulder to make sure nobody had been around to hear. She was relieved to find the room was empty. "He's very good though," She continues, "I could hardly beat him even with both my rooks intact." Before Draco could respond, several voices began echoing in from the hallway leading to where they sat.

"Ouch," they heard a female voice shout.

"What on earth is this?!" They heard Narcissa's angry voice now, "You can't bring her here!"

"We had orders to bring her here" It was a male who said this, but Danielle couldn't recognize the voice. Danielle looked towards where the voices were coming from before looking curiously at Draco. He shrugged and stood up. Danielle stood up too just as Mrs. Malfoy walked in. She looked furious.

"You can't just bring any piece of filth you find here!" She snaps and finally two tall, dirty looking men emerged dragging a girl in with them.

"Whatever lady, just tell us where to put her." Danielle knew these men must be snatchers. No death eater would talk to Narcissa that way, even if they hated her. The girl in between them let out a grown before lifting her head. Her long blonde hair fell back and Danielle got a glimpse of her face.

"Luna?!" She gasps without thinking and covers her mouth with her hands again after realizing her mistake. She was shocked to see her friend here at Malfoy Manor though. She looked ruffed up; like she'd given these men a good fight before finally being captured. Narcissa's eyes narrowed dangerously at Danielle's outburst though.

"Oh! hello!" Luna says kindly even though she was tied up. Narcissa looked furious by their friendly exchange. Danielle sent the girl an apologetic look before putting on a face of displeasure and looking away. Truthfully, Danielle was terrified for her Luna. Why was she here? What were they going to do to her?

"Mother," Draco scowls, "Why do we have people bringing vermin like Loony Lovegood here?" Danielle chanced a look at Luna again, hoping that her feelings weren't hurt by his name calling. She seemed indifferent to the whole situation. She didn't even look upset about being captured and taken into a death eater's home.

"She's a prisoner," one of the snatchers grins proudly. Danielle frowned at his dirty yellow teeth. They reminded her of Greyback; the real one, and the one from her nightmares. "We were ordered by the minister to take her as a punishment for her father."

"He kept printing articles about supporting Harry Potter in that stupid magazine of his. We warned him what would happen if he didn't stop" The other snatcher adds. "The old kook didn't listen."

Danielle saw a look of anger cross Luna's face upon hearing the insults to her father.

"Why would you punish someone for telling the truth?" Luna asks sternly, "It's the people at the prophet you should be calling crazy. Harry is not a criminal! He's going to end this war and bring peace back to the wizarding world!" Danielle was proud of her friend's courage, but she sort of wished Luna would stay quiet. Mouthing off was only going to make things worse for herself.

"You're as delusional as your old man if you think Harry Potter has any chance at defeating the dark lord," One of the snatcher's frowns, "He's just a stupid teenager."

"Than how come nobody, including you-know-who, has been able to find him?" Luna challenged fiercely. "Harry is a powerful wizard and your dark lord has no chance against him!" Danielle wanted to speak up and agree with her friend but knew it would be bad if she did. She settled for making eye contact with the girl and giving her a small nod.

"That's enough!" Narcissa snaps, "I still don't understand why you brought her here! Take her to the ministry if they want her! Tell them to put her in Azkaban or something."

"The ministry wants to keep her here," one of the snatchers shrugs.

"Unbelievable," Narcissa was clearly unhappy with the fact that she no longer had any authority in her own home. "Draco, show them to the dungeons."

"Dungeons?" Danielle would have laughed if it weren't for the fact that one of her friends was in serious trouble. She didn't want Luna locked up in some cold slimy dungeon.

"Yes Mother," Draco says obediently before nodding towards Luna's two captors. "Follow me."

The two men roughly shoved Luna forward as Draco led the way out of the room. Danielle felt herself begin to panic as the reality of what just happened sunk in. One of her friends had been taken and there wasn't much she could do about it. She was certain that she wouldn't be able to get Luna out, even if she managed to convince Draco to help her. They would get caught for sure, and then they would both get punished, probably severely. What would they do to Luna while she was here though? Did the Malfoys know Luna was a member of the DA; that she was friends with Harry? The uncertainty and guilt were overwhelming. Danielle wanted to help her friend, but at what cost? And, would it be worth it? She decided to talk to Draco about it later. For now, she had to let Tracy and the others know what was going on. She excused herself from the drawing room and ran to her bedroom to get her DA coin. She tapped it with her wand and sent the message to all her friends.

* * *

Tracy,

I just wanted to thank you for the pep talk you gave me. It actually helped a lot, especially when you said that stuff about Dumbledore. It reminded me of the deluminator that he left me in his will. I know this sounds crazy, but I think it might help me get back to Harry and Hermione. If it does, then I probably won't see you again until Harry's job is completed. I know you're smart, but be careful once you get back to Hogwarts, and keep Abby safe. Hopefully we'll all be back together soon. I'll tell Harry that you miss him when I see him. Maybe he won't be so mad at me for leaving if he knows that I got to talk to you. Probably not though, oh well.

Stay Strong, Ron

Tracy read through the note one more time before tossing it into the fireplace in the Ravenclaw common room and watching it curl into ash. Bill had stuffed it into her hand that morning right before she'd left the Weasley's safe house with Abby to go back to Hogwarts. It had been a risky move, passing a message like that around. It would have spelled disaster if anyone would have caught her or Bill with it. Tracy appreciated Ron keeping her informed though. It made her happy to think he might have found a way back to Harry and Hermione. She wasn't sure how he'd use a deluminator to accomplish that though. As far as Tracy knew, deluminators were only useful for turning lights on and off. She had faith that Ron could figure something out though. Besides, Tracy had more pressing matters to worry about now; like finding a way to the room of requirement. Snape had apparently used his holiday break to devise new ways of keeping the DA members apart. It had been a shock to discover that there was now assigned seating on the Hogwarts Express and even more death eaters strutting around the school watching the student's every move. Everyone was in even more danger now, and it made Tracy worry. She didn't want her friends getting harmed trying to sneak around the heavily guarded school. They had to risk it though, because they would be safer once they were all together.

"My coin!" Cho's voice breaks through the silence of the room, "It just warmed up!" Tracy turned away from the fire; wondering who was trying to contact them. Her heart sank when she saw Cho gasp in horror at whatever was on her coin.

"What is it?" Tracy asks; dreading the answer.

"Luna's been taken by snatchers!" Cho frowns before handing the coin to Tracy, "That's why she's not here! She's been taken to Malfoy Manor!"

Tracy felt shock and fear wash over her as she read Danielle's message. She had been wondering where Luna was ever since she'd failed to show up to the Ravenclaw common room. This was not good. Why would the snatchers go after Luna? Was it because she was in the DA? Tracy wondered if any other DA members from the other houses were missing and she just didn't know yet. What if Abby had been snatched away as soon as she'd been separated from Tracy on the train?

"What are we going to do?" Cho asks with tears in her eyes.

"There isn't much that we can do," Tracy admits with a frown. The only thing Tracy could think of was to inform McGonagall so that she could carry the message on to the other members in the Order. It would be extremely difficult to get her or any of the other teachers alone though. Tracy doubted that anyone would be able to break into Malfoy Manor and escape with Luna undetected anyway. It would be too dangerous a mission. The order couldn't risk losing anyone. Tracy figured that she'd try to tell one of the teachers if she could and hope that they would have some better ideas. And hopefully Danielle could keep them updated on how Luna was with the coins.

"Well can't Danielle do anything to help her?" Cho asks desperately. "Maybe she can get the Malfoy's to let her go."

"I don't think Danielle has much authority over there," Tracy sighs and tries not to think of the dreadful things the death eaters might do to Luna to try and get information out of her.

"She's the only one who can do anything though!" Cho says sounding frustrated. "She's the only one there."

"I'm sure she'll do everything she can to help Luna," Tracy sighs. She didn't blame Cho for getting upset, but it was stressing Tracy out trying to deal with the emotional girl while also trying to decide on how to proceed after all of this. Of course Tracy wanted to get Luna out of there, but they couldn't rely on Danielle completely to do it. That wouldn't be fair. Danielle was almost just as much a prisoner to the Malfoys as Luna was now.

"What's the plan then?" Cho then asks Tracy expectantly.

"We need to get everyone to the room of requirement as soon as possible," Tracy says and looks back down at Cho's coin. "I'll send out a message right now."

* * *

It wasn't until a week later that Tracy was able to figure out a way to get to the room of requirement. After a lot of brainstorming, she had come to the conclusion that there was just no way to get past all of Snape's guards around the school. So, even though it could have really backfired on her had she been caught, she decided to go ahead and use a stunning spell on anyone who got in her way.

"Tracy!" Neville cheers and gets up from a hammock he was sitting in to hug her.

"What's with the hammocks?" Tracy asks as she looks around the room of requirement which looked extremely different from the last time she had been there. It was a lot larger, and there were hammocks hanging all over the place.

"The room of requirement must know we're going to be staying here now." Seamus beams as he walks up with Abby at his side. "It's even added a girls and guys bathroom over there." Seamus points over to a set of doors on the left wall.

"That's incredible," Tracy smiles as she takes it all in. She loved Hogwarts, "Is everyone else accounted for?"

"Yep," Neville tells her, "You were the last one."

"It's a shame about Luna," Seamus brings up with a frown.

"Yeah," Tracy sighs. "We can't give up hope though. I managed to slip a note about it to McGonagall with one of my homework assignments. Maybe the order can do something for her."

"I hope so," Neville nods.

"You haven't told her about Aberforth!" Abby suddenly chimes in; obviously she didn't like the depressing mood that had settled over her friends.

"Oh yeah!" Seamus grins excitedly, "When some of us first got back here after break, we started wondering how we were going to get food and then that passage way appeared!" He directs Tracy's attention to a door in the very back of the room of requirement.

"Where does it lead? The kitchens?" Tracy couldn't believe how amazing the room of requirement actually was. It really did provide them with everything they needed.

"Nope, it leads to the hog's head in Hogsmead," Neville smiles.

"The bar?" Tracy asks curiously. She'd never gone into the hog's head before because it had always seemed sort of dodgy to her.

"Yeah, and you'll never guess who owns the place!" Seamus tells her, "Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth!"

"I didn't know Dumbledore had a brother!" Tracy gasps in shock.

"He does!" Neville tells her. "He's been giving us food and other supplies."

"Harry's been sighted again!" Cho's voice suddenly cuts through the chit chat as she bursts through the door that Seamus had just been pointing too, "Oh Tracy! Good! You finally made it!"

"Yeah," Tracy's brain was buzzing, "But what did you say about Harry? What's happened?"

"It's in today's prophet," Cho announces as she waves the paper over her head. Everyone in the DA was now looking at her expectantly, wanting to know what the news was. "Don't worry, Harry hasn't been captured or anything" Cho reassures them with a smile. Tracy takes the paper from her and begins to read.

"You guys, this doesn't seem right" Tracy mutters, "It says that the ministry rushed to the home of Xenophilius Lovegood yesterday afternoon when he informed authorities that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had broken into his home. The death eaters got there just in time to see them apparate away."

"You don't think it was Harry that broke in?" Seamus asks. "You think maybe they're trying to frame Harry for something to keep up the whole public menace thing?"

"Maybe Harry was there" Tracy explains, "But I don't think he'd break in. Why would he break into Luna's dad's house? Mr. Lovegood supports Harry and I find it strange that the paper says that he tried to turn Harry in."

"The prophet is probably twisting the story," Neville sighs, "at least we know that Harry's still alive, and that he's safe." Tracy agreed with him on that, she was also pleased to see that Ron was back with Harry and Hermione.

"Why would Harry go to Luna's house anyway?" Parvati, the Gryffindor Patil twin asks, "It just seems pretty random."

"Do you think they had found out about Luna, and went to her house to ask her dad how it happened?" Seamus asks.

"Even if they did know something about Luna, I doubt they went to her house just for that." Tracy says honestly. "It must have been something more important." Tracy wondered if Mr. Lovegood had a horcrux. Why else would Harry, Ron, and Hermione go there?

"Well, like Neville said, at least we know he's alright for now." Cho says and sits down in one of the hammocks, "but don't you think that they've been going to the strangest places. First they break into the ministry and now they are spotted in the home of the Quibbler."

"Quibbler?" Tracy thinks out loud. That was the name of Mr. Lovegood's magazine; the same magazine where he'd been printing all that stuff about supporting Harry.

"Oh no," Tracy gasps, "You guys! What if the death eaters took Luna because of her father's open support for Harry? What if Mr. Lovegood tried to give up Harry to the death eaters to try and get Luna back?"

"Do you think he'd do something like that to Harry?" Terry Boot asks skeptically.

"They took his daughter away," Padma Patil frowns, "I'm sure he'd do anything to get her back; to make sure the death eaters didn't hurt her or anything."

"This is all so messed up," Ernie Macmillan groans as he too plops down into his hammock.

"What happened to Luna is terrible," Tracy admits, "But we can't give up. There are things we need to do, and we'll need everybody's help to accomplish them."

"What do you mean?" Hannah Abbot asks curiously.

"I mean that we need to figure out a way to get that darned sword from Snape," Tracy declares. "It's extremely important."

"But don't you remember what happened last time?" Anthony Goldstein asks, "You guys were punished with cruciatus curse! And there's more security around the school now."

"You're right," Tracy nods, "But last time we weren't allowed to get caught. Snape knew where to find us if we ran or did something to him or one of the Carrows. This time we can be more aggressive. We can fight back if we need too, and once we succeed and get back here to the room of requirement, they won't be able to get to us."

"And Fred and George sent Tracy and I back here with lots of fun things that could help us," Abby pipes in with a smile, "You guys remember the instant darkness powder my sister used to confuse Snape the Carrows before, right? Well we've got a good amount of that at our disposal along with many other neat tricks."

"We can't just go rushing Snape's office though," Tracy lets out a small laugh at Abby's enthusiasm. "We'll need to think this through. We need to come up with a strategy."


	62. Part Two: Chapter Thirty

**Hello everyone! I just wanted to take a quick second to thank One Smart Waffle, Rock'xanne, Dexysixx, nelle a, loveit2, Helena, and all the guests who have left me reviews over the past few chapters. It means so much to me to get feedback of any kind so thank you guys soooo much :) **

Part Two: Chapter Thirty

"Lovegood's fine, one of the house elves just took some food down to her" Draco tells Danielle as he comes into her room and sits in his usual spot by her desk. He leans his head back in the chair and closes his eyes for a moment. Danielle could tell he was stressed and exhausted. He needed a break from all of this. When he sat back up he told her, "I just thought you'd like to know."

"That's good," Danielle tells him appreciatively. She was glad he was nice enough to let her know what was going on with her friend. "They aren't going to hurt her are they?"

"I don't think so," was the reply. "My parents are still annoyed that she's even here. As long as they don't think she's got any valuable information she should be fine. And they can't, you know, kill her or anything or they'd get in trouble for going against the ministry; which you know is like disobeying the dark lord; which my parents would never do."

"I just can't stop worrying about her down there," Danielle confesses, "Is it cold? Does she have a bathroom and a place to sleep? Is it sanitary?"

"Danielle," Draco gives her an exasperated look that told her she didn't want to know the answers to her questions. "I'm sorry," He tells her after seeing her start to wring her hands together, "but there's nothing we can do. She's lucky she wasn't taken to the ministry, or to Azkaban."

"I know, but your parents don't let Greyback near the dungeons, do they?" Danielle asks, "I'd hate for that creep to get a hold of her; Or Bellatrix… oh god that would be bad."

"You're getting yourself all worked up," Draco frowns looking a little annoyed, "Stop thinking about it." Danielle gave Draco a small glare before both of them jumped in shock at Inky suddenly popping into the room.

"Your f-father needs you down in th-the drawing room m-master Draco," the elf stutters looking absolutely terrified.

"Thank you Inky, let him know I'll be right down" Draco replies. Inky nods and disappears just as quickly as he came.

"What's got him so freaked out?" Danielle asks curiously.

"I'm not sure, but I better not keep my father waiting" Draco frowns before grabbing Danielle's arm. "Come with me." Danielle didn't know if she wanted to go down, but it seemed she had no choice.

"You haven't done anything wrong, have you?" Danielle asks in concern as they make their way down to the drawing room.

"No…" Draco says but doesn't sound very confident in his answer. When the two reach their destination they see Draco's parents waiting for them, along with someone else. Someone whose sudden appearance once again left Danielle feeling like someone had doused her in icy cold water. She was so shocked, that she didn't even notice Draco fall to his knee beside her.

"My lord," Draco's voice gets Danielle to shake out of her trance. Why was Voldemort back? She'd heard him say he was going out of the country. Why was he here? Had Draco done something he wasn't supposed to? Was Voldemort going to punish him? What if he decided to read her mind this time? What if he saw her fears and made them real? She'd die before taking the dark mark or letting someone hand deliver her to Greyback. She had her wand and she would fight tooth and nail to avoid such horrible fates.

"You may rise Draco," came the horrible hiss. Draco didn't put his arm around Danielle this time when he stood up. Instead he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze before pulling her the rest of the way into the room. Voldemort noticed the exchange and smirked in Danielle's direction. The horrible red eyes that had filled her dreams locked onto to her; making her feel sick. She desperately hoped that he did not see what he was doing to her; that she was scared out of her wits. Draco seemed to have sensed her fear easy enough though, so to Voldemort it was probably obvious.

"How are you today Ms. Emmings?" Voldemort asks and Danielle sees Narcissa exchange a nervous glance with her husband. Danielle figured that they were worried she would embarrass them. They overestimated her; Danielle didn't know if she'd even be able talk at all let alone get into a verbal spar with the dark lord.

"I'm quite well, thank you" the words popped out of Danielle's mouth before she could think. She forced a smile onto her face and convinced herself to meet the evil man's stare, "How are you?" Narcissa looked horrified by the audacity of her words. Voldemort smiled though and looked amused by them.

"She's a bold one, isn't she?" He asks; turning his gaze toward Draco who looked confused about how to respond. Voldemort didn't wait for an answer though; he just looked back at Danielle.

"I'm afraid, Ms. Emmings, that I'm not in a very good mood" he continues and Danielle frowns.

"I'm sorry to hear that," She tells him; and she really was. She didn't want Voldemort to take his bad day out on any of them. Had the Malfoys done something to piss him off again? Had they pushed him too far this time?

"Please, tell us what has happened, my lord" Lucius speaks up bravely. "Tell us what you want us to do." Voldemort waves his wand and suddenly a man appears in the middle of the floor. Danielle couldn't help but gasp at having someone materialize in front of her like that. She had no idea who this person was, but he looked to have his limbs bound together magically; and the look in his eyes was of pure terror.

"Come here, Draco" Voldemort suddenly beckons Draco to his side. Draco hesitates for a moment before complying. "What has been my main goal since Albus Dumbledore's death?"

"To find and destroy Potter, my lord" Draco rattles off. Danielle could tell he was uncomfortable being so close to the dark lord when he was apparently angry.

"That's right," Voldemort narrows his blood red eyes at the mystery man at his feet. "This is Rowle. He is one of your fellow death eaters that have sworn an oath to serve me loyally. Perhaps you remember him."

"I do," Draco states neutrally.

"Apparently you haven't heard Draco, but yesterday, Potter's location was discovered. It was Rowle who was sent to collect him for me" Voldemort explains, "But, he failed. He let Potter escape." That would explain the bad mood, Danielle thinks to herself. She couldn't believe that someone had found Harry though. It was a miracle that he, Ron, and Hermione had been able to get away. It was really unfortunate for this Rowle character though.

"That is horrible news indeed," Draco responds automatically. "I can understand your displeasure."

"I was hoping you would," Voldemort smiles viciously, "Because you're the one who will punish him." Draco's eyes widen in shock. Danielle bites her tongue to keep herself from objecting.

"Wh… What?" Draco turns to look at Voldemort warily.

"You heard me boy," Was the amused reply. "Show him what happens to those who let down Lord Voldemort." Draco looked like he might be sick as he slowly pulls out his wand. Lucius' face showed no emotion but his wife was having difficulty keeping her disapproval of the situation hidden. Danielle's brain was screaming at her to do something, but she knew she had to remain idle. If she tried to interfere things would surely get worse. The look in Draco's eyes was tearing her apart though. She wasn't sure he'd be able to hold himself together if he was really forced to do this.

"Don't go easy on him," Voldemort taunts, "Don't forget by letting me down, he let you down as well. We share the same ambitions after all. Don't we, Draco?" The Slytherin boy's calm face threatens to break and Danielle begins to fear he might start sobbing right there in front of all of them. She pretends to clear her throat, making Draco look over. She nods her head at him, trying to tell him to be strong. He nods his head back before taking in a deep breath to try and rein his emotions back in. Voldemort frowns, once again noticing their silent communication.

"I once heard someone say that behind every strong man stands an even stronger woman," Voldemort drawls as his eyes connect with Danielle's. "Would you agree with that statement, Ms. Emmings?"

"Well," Danielle answers readily, "I don't see anyone behind you aside from an army of death eaters." Lucius frowns at her statement and looks to his wife who seemed just as confused. Voldemort narrows his eyes before letting out a loud laugh; one that almost shocked Danielle right out of her skin.

"Ravenclaws," He muses, "They're so cryptic. They intentionally make their words difficult to decipher any meaning from. Now, I've been distracted from my objective. Draco, if you will…" Voldemort turns back to Draco who was looking a little more composed than before, but still lacked any true desire to tackle this horrible task. He held up his wand and aimed it at the death eater who was responsible for letting Harry get away. Danielle saw him take another deep breath before shouting, "Crucio!"

Gut wrenching screams erupted from the man's mouth and he began to convulse violently on the ground. Danielle desperately wanted to look away but knew it would be considered as weakness if she did. It was just that Danielle knew exactly what the death eater was feeling; she'd felt the torture curse before, and it was not pleasant. Memories of watching Seamus going through the same thing also popped into her mind. She was thankful when Draco lifted his curse a few moments later. His eyes were wide and his face was ghost white. He looked immensely sick over what he'd just done.

"More," Voldemort demands and Draco squeezes his eyes shut before lifting his trembling hand back up.

"Crucio!" He shouts and the death eater howls in agony.

"PLEASE! PLEASE STOP! IT WASN'T MY FAULT! PLEASE!" He begs but his cries fall on deaf ears. Danielle knew that Draco wanted to stop though. She could see how much this was killing him by the silent tears that had begun to escape his eyes. Rowle wasn't the only one being tortured right now and it was taking every ounce of self control Danielle had not to step in. Narcissa wasn't taking this whole thing very well either. Her perfectly manicured nails were digging into her palms and her eyes shown with unshed tears. Lucius was the hardest to read, although Danielle could see his jaw muscles tightening as he clenched his teeth in anger. The death eater on the floor was screaming for so long that his voice began to crack. His eyes rolled up into his head and blood began to trickle from the side of his mouth. He had either bitten his tongue or the inside of his cheek or something. The sight was gruesome either way. Danielle had a feeling she might revisit Rowle in her dreams the next time she was able to coax herself into falling asleep; that was certainly something to look forward to.

"Alright," Voldemort says after what seems like an eternity. "That's enough." Draco drops his arm and backs away from his victim slowly. His whole body was shaking and he was looking queasy. Rowle wasn't looking much better. Actually, he seemed to have lost consciousness as soon as the curse was lifted. "I believe Rowle has gotten the point, don't you?" Voldemort looks at Draco who only nods as a response. "Good," he continues, "that'll be all then." The dark lord than disappears in his signature gust of black smoke; taking Rowle with him. The room was silent as a grave then, making for a stark contrast to the ear splitting screams from just moments before.

"Draco…" Narcissa takes a step toward her son but he holds up his hand to stop her.

"No," He tells her. "Leave me alone." Without another word, he turned and left the room. Narcissa and Lucius shifted their gazes to Danielle then, as if she had anything to say to them. No, Danielle just wanted to get out of there too. So she gave a nod to Draco's parents before turning and following Draco's path toward her bedroom. She wasn't surprised to find her fiancé standing right outside her door. He was still shaking and breathing heavily, and his eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying.

"I have stuff to make a calming draught," She tells him softly. "It doesn't take long to brew." He just shrugs and follows her inside.

"I'm sorry I took you down there," he mumbles as he watches her pull ingredients out of her school trunk and lines them up around her small cauldron.

"You didn't know what was going to happen," Danielle replies. "You don't have to apologize."

"Why did he make me do it?" Draco asks cautiously, his voice wavering with the effort to keep himself from falling completely apart. "My dad was right there."

"It wouldn't have fazed your father," Danielle frowns. "That's why."

"That sadistic psychopath!" Draco growls before balling up his fists and squeezing his eyes shut. Danielle stands up and quickly pulls him into a hug. She still felt strange doing it, but it was the only thing she could think of to make him feel better. He hugged her back tightly and mumbled, "I hate him."

"I hate him too," Danielle sighs as she pulls away and gets back to her caldron. She wondered if it would be too difficult to make a dreamless sleep potion. She and Draco could both use a good night's sleep. The stress and anxiety were wearing them both down; it was evident in the way their emotions were besting them lately. Danielle wasn't usually such a slave to her fears, and she couldn't believe Draco had actually let tears fall from his eyes in front of his parents and Voldemort. They both needed to recharge; it was going to be difficult though being here in the manor. They were on the death eater's schedule; which meant that peaceful downtime was hard to come by.

* * *

"Stupefy!" Tracy shouts and whips her wand at the pudgy short death eater standing outside of Snape's office. Taking him out though alerted the others standing around nearby to come running.

"Tracy, someone's going to hear this and tell Snape" Seamus hisses to his friend before aiming his wand at another rather tall death eater, "Stupefy!" The death eater manages to block the spell.

"Cover me for a second?" Tracy eyes Seamus and Neville quickly and they nod. All three of them run out from their hiding spot and split up. Neville begins dueling the tall death eater from before and Seamus prepares himself to take on anyone who might come from the adjacent hallways. Tracy moves to position herself right outside of the headmasters office and swirls her wand in a large circle above her head, "muffalatio!" She shouts and a transparent dome forms around the scene that would prevent any noise from their fighting from being heard.

"Watch out!" Seamus shouts to her. Three more death eaters had just come around the corner and spotted them. Tracy whips around. "Protego," she shouts just in time to block three hexes from hitting her. One of them looked suspiciously like the killing curse.

"Incarcerous!" She flicks her wand at one of the scariest looking death eaters and three sets of chains fly from her wand and bind themselves around the target.

"Nice one," Neville smiles at her before looking back to the person he was fighting, "petrificus totalus!"

"Stupefy!" Seamus shouts; successfully taking out the last hooded figure.

"Phew," Neville whips the sweat off his forehead. "That was intense."

"It's not over yet," Tracy tells them quickly. "Look, the spell I put up will keep what happens outside Snape's office quiet, but that doesn't mean more death eaters won't come to check in. You guys can stand guard while I go in right?"

"I think so," Seamus nods his head.

"If a lot of them come it might be tough though" Neville admits, "Especially if Snape or the Carrows show up."

"I'll be quick," Tracy promises, "but if something happens get yourselves out of her, alright?"

"We aren't going to leave you in Snape's office!" Neville protests.

"I can handle myself," was Tracy's reply. "And we can't risk losing our three strongest members, ok? This sword is more important than any of us."

"Ok," Seamus says and gives Tracy a pat on the shoulder, "Hurry though. If you can't see the sword right away, just come back and we'll try again later."

"Right," the girl nods and turns toward the gargoyle blocking the passage to Snape's office. "Snape is a greasy hook nosed worm." Seamus laughs when the doorway appears for her. The castle not only provided for them, but it also had a sense of humor. After one last glance over her shoulder, Tracy headed up the stairs to the headmaster's lair. She kept her wand out just in case anybody was lurking around inside, but she encountered no one. She jogged up to the glass case hanging on the right wall where she had found the sword before to find it was empty. That didn't surprise her. After the last time, Snape would be crazy to leave the thing in the same place.

"Accio Sword!" Tracy held up her wand and nothing happened. This was also unsurprising, but it hadn't hurt to try. With a sigh, she skipped over to Snape's desk and began rummaging through the drawers. When that proved to be a dead end, she went around to the dozens of bookcases and cupboards to look through those. She checked for secret compartments or any other hidden hiding spots as she went. It was no use; Snape had hidden the sword well. He might even have had it sent away from the school. Maybe it was at Malfoy Manor. Tracy would send Danielle a heads up to keep an eye out for it on the coins as soon as she got back to the room of requirement. She hurriedly put everything back into its place before rushing back out to where Neville and Seamus were waiting for her.

"Like we'd ever tell you that, you dirty Slytherin!" She heard Seamus shout before lifting his wand.

"Protego!" Tracy shouts and sends a barrier up between her fellow DA member and Blaise Zabini.

"What the heck?" Seamus turns around.

"Don't hurt him!" Tracy orders before hurrying over.

"Ross?" Blaise looks at the girl in shock, "This is a surprise. I didn't even know you were still at the school. You haven't been in any of your classes in weeks. How'd you manage that?" He looked utterly confused by seeing someone who'd just disappeared without a trace after Christmas break.

"I could ask you the same thing about being out in the halls without a death eater escort," Tracy sighs.

"The guy who usually takes us from transfiguration to defense against the dark arts never showed up, so McGonagall just sent us off on our own" Blaise shrugs, "Looks like our usual chaperone's having a bit of a bad day." He gestures over to one of the unconscious death eaters on the ground.

"He's gonna tell Snape he saw us," Seamus pipes in; still clutching his wand in his hand.

"We'll be gone before he does," Tracy shrugs before looking back to Blaise. "I don't have to stun you do I? We really need to be getting out of here before Snape finds out we broke into his office again."

"I just want to know where you've all been hiding," He says seriously.

"We're not telling you," Neville speaks up now, "Come on Tracy, we need to go."

"Sorry Blaise, but I can't really … CONJUNCTIVIS!" She suddenly points her wand sending a hex flying over the Slytherin's shoulder. He put his arms up in defense thinking he was the target, but then turns around quickly when he realizes he wasn't. Alecto Carrow was on the ground screaming and clawing at her eyes.

"Sheesh Ross!" Blaise turns to her wide eyed.

"We have to go," Tracy tells him then, "You need to get out of here too or they'll try to question you."

"Didn't mean to hold you up," He says seriously. "Good luck to you."

"Same to you," Tracy nods before beckoning Neville and Seamus to follow her back to the room of requirement. She hadn't expected to run in to Blaise or any other students, but it was a pleasant surprise. She liked Blaise, and sort of even missed him in an odd way. She hoped he wouldn't sell her out; not that it mattered if he did. Snape was obviously going to know what happened. They'd taken out five of his death eater guards, and Alecto Carrow. It was too bad that she hadn't been able to get the sword though. The other members of the DA would have been thrilled to have a victory under their belt, getting in and out of Snape's office alive was sort of a victory in itself though. Tracy just hoped that if she couldn't get the sword, Harry could find another way to destroy the horcruxes.


	63. Part Two: Chapter Thirty One

**Quick note: Some of you have been requesting that I post longer chapters so here is the deal :) this part of the story is already broken up into chapters so I'm going to keep doing the same thing I've been doing so far (there are only a handful of chapters in Part Two left anyway) Once I start Part Three I'm going to post longer chapters. I totally understand wanting them longer and I'm sorry they've been so short up until now. Also, I wanted to let you all know that part three is really going to start bringing Draco and Danielle's feelings for each other out into the open. Part one they were both able to hide away together in the room of requirement while fixing the vanishing cabinet so there was no need to question what their relationship was in association to the outside world. It was like Danielle's time with Draco existed outside of what was going on with her family and friends. The two realities were never forced to coexist. The same goes for Part Two. Danielle and Draco have not been forced to be 'Danielle and Draco' in front of anybody but themselves yet. They've been able to talk, hug, and just generally grow closer to each other without having to question how it would look to anybody else or what they would label it if anyone were to ask. The tables are turned in part three and the two of them are going to have to figure it out because there will be nowhere and no reason to hide anymore. :) So, I hope you're all excited for that. Now, on to the story.**

Part Two: Chapter Thirty One

Danielle frowns and lifts a hand up to scratch her head in thought as she reads the recipe for a blood replenishing potion she'd found in Draco's library. It had seemed like an important thing to know how to make at first, but now that she was looking closer it was extremely advanced. It was way beyond anything she'd ever attempted before. It would be dangerous to try and make under normal circumstances let alone by a 17 year old student with limited supplies. Danielle did not want to blow up her bedroom if something went wrong. How would she explain that to Narcissa and Lucius? She was just about to give up when her bedroom door burst open and Draco walked in looking completely hysterical.

"Draco!" Panic flooded Danielle's mind and she stood up quickly. She nearly fainted at the state he was in. He was covered in blood. It was everywhere; on his robes, on his face, in his white blonde hair. The smell of it overwhelmed Danielle and she had to look away for a minute to let the nausea pass. Draco was just standing in the middle of her room now with a petrified look on his face. He was breathing heavily and standing with his arms away from his body. Where had all the blood come from?

"Where are you hurt?" Danielle demands; her mind instantly shoves her emotions away so that she could think clearly and work quickly. "What happened?"

"Most of it's not mine," Draco whimpers as he tries to wipe some of the blood off his cheek that was dripping down from a large gash above his eye. He was shaking so badly though that he couldn't even manage that.

"Tergeo," Danielle gives her wand a swish and all the blood covering Draco's robes vanishes in a snap. "Where else are you hurt?" Danielle demands again as she looks the boy up and down for any sign of major damage.

"I'm not really," Draco says before shuddering violently, "most of it wasn't mine. It's just my face."

"Hold still," Danielle says and points her wand at the cut about his eye which immediately started healing until it was completely gone. When Danielle lowered her wand Draco reached up to rub the place he had just been bleeding from to find nothing there. "What happened?" Danielle asks loudly. He was so freaked out over whatever had happened that Danielle wasn't sure if she believed him about not being hurt. "Who did this?" She asks when Draco stays silent, "Someone from the order again?" Draco closes his eyes and shakes his head no. Danielle let out a growl of frustration before going to her trunk and pulling out the last of the calming draught she'd made, "Drink this." He reaches out with trembling hands and takes the vial. Thankfully he was able to get it to his mouth without spilling or dropping it.

"Sit," Danielle then commands as she pushes him toward her desk chair. "Inky!" She'd never called the house elf before and she wasn't sure if he would come to her. He did though.

"Yes Ms. Danielle?" The elf bows low to the ground so its nose almost touches the carpet.

"I need you to go to Draco's room and bring him back a change of clothes please," She tells him. She'd cleaned most of the blood off of Draco's clothes, but the metallic smell still lingered.

"Right away, Miss" The elf bows again and disappears with a 'pop'. Danielle then turns and looks at Draco. His breathing had slowed down a bit but he still looked edgy.

"Can you please tell me what happened?" she asks. He looks up at her with an almost zombie like look on his face.

"They butchered her," He says.

"What?!" Danielle had to have heard wrong, "Who?"

"The little girl," Draco closes his eyes and looks down at his lap. He started shaking again.

"What little girl, Draco" Danielle couldn't help but think of her sister; who she worried about all the time being off at Hogwarts with Snape and the Carrows. Hopefully Abby, and the rest of her friends were doing better than her and Draco were currently. Inky popped back in then with a stack of folded pajamas in his arms.

"Inky wanted master Draco to be comfortable Miss" Was his excuse. Danielle gave the elf a small smile.

"Thank you Inky," she replies as she takes the clothes and hands them to Draco, "Go in the bathroom and put these on. You need to get out of those robes. They're disgusting." Draco stood up and walked into the bathroom without saying a word.

"Is he alright, Miss?" Inky whispers, "Would you like me to get anything else?"

"I think we're fine for now. Thank you though," Danielle gives the elf a small smile. Inky nods before once again dissaperating from the room. When Draco came back out, Danielle saw that he'd washed the rest of the blood from his face and hair. Now he looked normal again, aside for the fact that he was in pajamas. He walked over to her bed and sat down. The calming draught had kicked in fully now; which Danielle was thankful for.

"I was sent off with a group of death eaters this morning to do an inspection in a small wizarding community near Lancaster," Draco begins to speak, but he wouldn't look Danielle in the eye. "Apparently some half-blood and pureblood families around there have been harboring muggleborns to try and protect them from being caught by the ministry. We were just supposed to go around and ask a few questions; poke around a bit just to serve as a warning." Danielle nodded for him to continue, "One of the houses we visited, the family gave us some trouble. They were telling us off; preaching about muggleborn rights or whatever. I wanted to just leave, but the guys I was with didn't like being provoked like that. So they started arguing back and soon everyone had their wands out. The death eaters started making threats and then this little girl came out of nowhere. One of the other death eaters snatched her up and started demanding that the people give up whoever they were trying to hide. I don't even know if they were hiding anyone." Draco paused to gather his thoughts. "It was horrible," He says after a moment, "the parents, or whoever they were, were begging us to let the girl go but nobody was listening. The death eaters I was with started asking if the girl was a muggle; if she was the one they were hiding. The people didn't say anything, they were just freaking out and crying and begging for the girl back. And then, the one guy who was holding the little girl… he just… he just killed her; for absolutely no reason."

Danielle felt the nausea from before come back and she had to close her eyes to keep from getting sick. How monstrous could you be, honestly? Danielle had never felt so disgusted in her entire life. All of that blood she'd cleaned off of Draco… what had they done to that girl? She didn't even want to know; especially with the adjective Draco had used earlier: Butchered.

"I couldn't have stopped it," Draco lets out a rugged breath. "One second she was there and the next… she was… everywhere." Danielle clenched her teeth.

"How'd you get the cut on your eye?" She asks the question just to change the subject. She didn't want her brain conjuring up images of dismembered children to add to her nightmares.

"Well, you can imagine how the house owners reacted; as soon as it happened, all hell broke loose." Draco explains, "They were ready to murder all of us. They actually did manage to get the guy who'd done it; can't say I feel sorry for him. The ministry's not going to be happy though."

"You shouldn't have had to see something like that," Danielle states angrily. Draco finally looks up and meets her gaze.

"I'm glad you didn't," he tells her before letting out a sigh.

"You should go get some rest," Danielle responds.

"I'm not tired," was the reply.

"Not physically you aren't," Danielle reasons, "But I'm sure you're drained emotionally."

"I don't want to be alone," He finally admits.

"Then rest here, I don't mind" Danielle wasn't going to force Draco to do anything right now. He'd been through enough without her nagging him. He smiles gratefully and lays back on the bed before reaching under her pillow and pulling out her game boy.

"I'm almost through with the second set of gyms," He tells her as he switches the game on.

"There are no words to express my pride," She teases lightly before plopping back down on the floor and going back to her potions recipes. Draco had just dozed off with the game in his hands when she felt her DA coin heat up in her pocket. She pulled it out curiously and read the message from Tracy telling her to keep an eye out for the sword of Gryffindor.

* * *

"Don't forget Abby, you've got to think of something really happy" Seamus tells the second year Gryffindor. "It has to be one of your best memories." Seamus, along with some of the other members of the DA had begun taking turns teaching Abby new spells. By no means where they preparing her for battle, but they needed to do something to occupy the girl. She was starting to get a bit rambunctious being locked up in the room of requirement with nothing to do. Giving her something to work on kept her mind busy and helped her burn off some of her energy.

"Alright," Abby nods her head determinedly before turning to Tracy, "How do you say it again?"

"Expecto Patronum," She enunciates clearly.

"Ok," Abby clears her throat before jabbing her wand into the air, "expect patronum!" Nothing happens causing the girl to groan and cross her arms in disappointment.

"Don't give up Abbs," Tracy says. "That's a really hard spell. A lot of people have difficulty with it, even adults."

"Can you do it?" Abby asks curiously.

"Of course she can," Seamus laughs, "She's amazing at spells."

"What's your animal?" Abby asks shyly. Tracy smiles and points her wand above her head.

"Expecto Patronum!" She shouts and a blast of blue light shoots into the air and starts taking the shape of a big beautiful blue herring. It stretches out its wings and soars around the room before slowly fading away.

"Wow!" Abby's eyes grew wide, "That was awesome! I want to see another one!"

"Expecto Patronum!" Seamus shouts and a fox leaps from the blue light and runs circles around its creator. Abby laughs at the playful thing.

"I can't wait to see what mine will be," She sighs. "I hope it's something cute like your fox."

"Finding the right memory is the hardest part," Seamus tells her. "It has to be something super happy, and meaningful."

"So think real hard, and try again" Tracy tells Abby with a smile. "If we can all do it, you can too."

"Ok," Abby nods her head and closes her eyes; trying to search her mind for the perfect memory. "I think I've got it! Expecto Patronum!" A blast of blue light fizzles from the end of her wand before disappearing.

"That's great!" Tracy claps the girl on the back, "You almost had it!"

"But it wasn't an animal," The girl frowns.

"It was a start though," Seamus reassures her. "Just keep practicing and you'll perfect it no time."

"And keep this in mind," Tracy states, "Harry didn't even learn the patronus charm until his third year in school. And Ron and Hermione couldn't do it until they were fifth years."

"Hermione took that long?!" Abby gasps in shock. "But she's perfect at everything!"

"I told you the spell was hard," Tracy laughs. "So don't beat yourself up about it. Like Seamus said, you'll get it with practice."

"Alright!" Abby was back to being excited again, "Pretty soon I'm going to be as tough as you guys!"

"That's right," Seamus smiles before the door to the room of requirement suddenly burst open. Neville fell into the room along with Terry Boot and Cho Chang. Neville had a slice across his cheek that was bleeding profusely and the other two were holding him up.

"What happened?" Anthony Goldstein asks as he helps Neville over to a bed.

"We went to Ravenclaw tower," Cho explains as she runs to the white medicine cabinet to grab a potion that would take the edge off Neville's pain. "While patrolling the school we heard that some first years got into it pretty bad with Alecto this morning. We wanted to check in there to see if they were alright."

"Amycus was waiting for us though," Anthony Goldstein sighs. "We weren't really prepared for that."

"What was he doing up by Ravenclaw tower?" Seamus asks looking suspicious, "You think someone told him?"

"It had to have been a coincidence," Cho speaks up. "I think he was just coming back from dropping a class off or something."

"We never would have made it back here though," Neville finally grunts through his pain, "if it weren't for Zabini."

"Zabini?" Seamus frowns, "You must be joking! Again?"

"Yeah," Cho looks to Tracy, "I don't know what to make of it, do you?"

"I mean, I know he's not a bad guy," Tracy shakes her head in disbelief; "I just don't understand why he keeps helping us."

"I don't know how he hasn't gotten in trouble for it yet," Terry Boot replies.

"He is a Slytherin," Seamus points out, "He probably has special privileges to get around the school without a death eater."

"So, you think he's sneaking around and keeping an eye out for us?" Anthony Goldstein asks skeptically.

"I have no idea," Tracy shrugs.

"Maybe Snape put him up to it," Terry suggests, "Maybe he's trying to get us to trust him so we'll tell him where we're hiding out."

"I bet you that's it!" Seamus' face lights up, "It's got to be."

"I don't think so," Tracy disagrees, "he wouldn't do that."

"You and your soft spot for Slytherins," Seamus sighs.

"Maybe it's the Slytherins that have a soft spot for her," Abby enters the conversation then, "Did you ever think about that?" Everyone just looks at the girl in amusement. She looked so serious with her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised.

"You are a goofy kid, you know that?" Neville says, "You've got a lot of Weasley in you. Sometimes I forget you aren't one of them." Abby grins with pride.

"I'm not a kid though," She tells him, "See? Expecto Patronum!" A mass of blue light erupts from her wand then and shifts in the air until it takes the shape of a ring tailed lemur that begins jumping around the room: leaping from hammock to hammock swiftly.

"Oh my gosh! Abby!" Tracy breaks into a smile, "Good job! That's amazing!" Everyone in the DA begins patting her on the back and congratulating her. They were all shocked but also proud.

"Thank you!" The girl gives them all a satisfied smirk. "I can't wait to tell Hermione!"


	64. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Two

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Two

"It's not _that_ funny," Danielle frowns over at the blonde headed Slytherin walking next to her through the gardens outside of Malfoy Manor. It was cold outside even though it was nearing the end of winter, but the two were getting sick of being cooped up inside. Danielle especially needed some fresh air.

"I'm sorry," Draco shakes his head before laughing again, "I just can't even picture you doing something like that."

"I wouldn't do something like that normally," Danielle crosses her arms and pretends to be irritated even though it was nice to see Draco smiling after the horrendous thing he had witnessed the week before. "But that's why it's called truth or dare; the whole point of the game is to get people to embarrass themselves."

"That sort of makes me glad that my friendship with Ross never worked out," Draco sends a small smile over at Danielle; "She doesn't play nice; does she? She's got more Slytherin in her than I thought."

"She doesn't do it to be mean," Danielle waves him off, "She just likes getting a reaction out of me."

"She's brave then," Draco smirks, "Because you're pretty terrifying when you're angry." Danielle lets out a sarcastic laugh.

"It's not anger she's aiming for," She says without thinking, "She just likes to make me nervous."

"Nervous?" Draco raises a curious eyebrow, "How does she do that? I've seen you stare into the eyes of the dark lord and hardly miss a step. I mean, everybody gets scared, but you're pretty good at facing a challenge. I don't see how a stupid muggle game could give you a problem."

"You'd be surprised," was all Danielle could say as a reply. She appreciated his compliment, but wasn't about to start explaining all of her weaknesses in detail to the guy. He wasn't satisfied with her response though, and was about to question her further when Inky suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Master Draco, your father requires your assistance in the drawing room." The house elf tells them, "He says it's urgent."

"I'll be right there," Draco says before sending a nervous glance over to Danielle.

"I'm coming with you," She tells him with no hesitation.

"You don't have to," Draco points out. "Don't forget what happened the last time I was called down."

"How could I forget?" was Danielle's sad reply, "Let's just go deal with it."

Both Danielle and Draco were surprised by the number of people gathered inside the drawing room when they arrived. Both of Draco's parents were there, of course, but so was Draco's Aunt Bellatrix. There were also three other filthy men standing around that Danielle assumed were snatchers. The group was standing in a wide circle around another three people, who were kneeling down on the black tile with their hands and feet bound. Danielle couldn't see their faces since they were turned away from her, but she didn't need to in order to figure out who they were. She felt her stomach drop. Draco had spoken too soon. Danielle had faced many challenges, but she wasn't sure if she could face this one.

"Draco, these men are under the impression that they have caught Harry Potter and his friends." Lucius speaks up and Danielle sees Draco swallow nervously. He had obviously recognized the trio right away as well. The two of them slowly made their way over, however, trying to stay calm. When Danielle finally stood in front of her friends; there was no denying Ron's bright red hair and freckles, or Hermione's bushy curls. Harry was a little more difficult to identify because for some reason his face looked swollen and distorted like he'd been attacked by a swarm of bees. All three looked like they'd been through hell. They were covered in dirt from head to toe and had scratches and bruises wherever skin was visible. What on earth had they been doing? And what had they gone through? The three's eyes widened a little when they see Danielle; she just nods slightly in response. She couldn't blow her cover right now, but she might have to soon. Getting Harry out of here was imperative. Tracy had told her about the prophecy and knew that the boy in front of her was the only hope of destroying Voldemort.

"Obviously this is something that will greatly please the dark lord," Bellatrix points out, sounding more cheerful than Danielle had ever heard her. "But we must be absolutely sure we have the right people before calling him."

"Draco honey, you knew him better than any of us." Narcissa speaks softly as she comes and puts a hand on her son's shoulder. "You went to school with him for six years. You'll be able to tell us if it's really him."

Before Draco can even respond, his mother turns him so that he was facing the three prisoners. A look of defeat crosses Ron's features and Hermione was biting back tears. Danielle couldn't tell what was going on with Harry because his face was so blown up. They must be so scared though, Danielle thinks to herself. They are probably wondering what I'm going to do to help them. What was she supposed to do though? There was no way she'd be able to talk the Malfoys into waiting to call Voldemort back. And if she just threw caution to the wind and tried to break them out right now she would surely fail. She was positive that the snatchers had taken Ron, Hermione, and Harry's wands after they were captured which meant it would be Danielle against Narcissa, Lucius, Bellatrix, and the three snatchers.

"Well Draco," Lucius asks impatiently, "Is it them?" Danielle looked over at Draco who had his eyes trained on the Gryffindors. "Son, if we are the ones to hand Potter over, the dark lord will forgive our family. We will have our respect back. Nobody will ever question our power again!"

"I don't know," Draco finally mumbles and looks at his feet. Danielle turns to Draco with wide eyes.

"Well don't be shy," Bellatrix laughs before grabbing Draco by the back of the robes and shoving him closer to Harry, Ron, and Hermione so that he was face to face with them. "It's them isn't it deary? It's Harry Potter!"

"I…" Draco looked terrified to be so close to his school enemies. "I can't be sure. What's wrong with his face?"

"Looks like a stinging hex to me," One of the snatchers mumbles. "They probably did it to him on purpose to hide who he is."

"Quick thinking on their part," Bellatrix cackled in amusement and looked at Hermione. "Come on Draco, this is the Mudblood isn't it? And here's the Weasley boy. Everyone knows the three are inseparable."

"I'm not sure," Draco lies and backs away from Harry quickly. Danielle was honestly shocked. She knew that Draco wasn't a heartless murderer like the other death eaters, but that didn't mean he wasn't still a Slytherin. Lucius was right, if they handed Harry over to Voldemort right now, all of their mistakes up until this point would be forgiven. He would be back on top of his perfect little pureblood world. His decision to identify Harry could even end the war; meaning the death eaters would win. The Malfoys would have free rein over the wizarding world, and Draco would never have to worry about putting his life in danger ever again. Why had he given it up?

"What about you girl?" Lucius then called over to Danielle; breaking her from her thoughts, "You were at Hogwarts for a while. Is this Harry Potter or not?"

"How should I know?" for some reason Danielle decided annoyance was the best route to take, "I only went to school with them for a year and I wasn't even in their house. Also, I've been cooped up in this manor for so long I scarcely remember what my own parents look like."

"You insolent, foolish…"

"HOLD ON!" Bellatrix interrupts Lucius with a shriek. Her eyes were wide under her matted dark hair as she lifts a trembling hand to point at one of the snatchers, "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT?" Danielle looked over to see the man holding a long, ruby encrusted sword. By golly, it was the sword of Gryffindor; the one thing Tracy had told her to keep an eye out for. But how had Harry gotten his hands on it? Danielle had seen the sword with her own eyes at Hogwarts when the DA had tried to steal it just a handful of months before. How had it ended up with her friends between then and now?

"I found it," the guy shrugged. "The girl had it."

"PUT THE OTHERS IN THE DUNGEONS!" Bellatrix bellows towards Draco causing everyone to jump, "LEAVE THE MUDBLOOD! WE NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE TALK." Bellatrix kneeled down in front of Hermione, "GIRL TO GIRL."

Draco hesitates for a second before going over to Ron and Harry with his wand out. "Alright, follow me." He leads Harry and Ron out of the room; one of the snatchers follows him. Danielle closed her eyes as she hears Ron and Harry calling out Hermione's name through the Manor's halls as they were dragged away. This was bad; really, really bad. Danielle knew she had to do something soon, or her friends were going to be in even more trouble than they already were. She wasn't sure what Bellatrix knew about the sword of Gryffindor, but apparently she knew something. Danielle grits her teeth when the psychotic woman points her wand straight at Hermione. "How did you get that sword?" She asks viciously.

"We found it," Hermione mumbles. Anger flickers in Bellatrix's eyes and Danielle knows she has to step in.

"Does it matter where she got the sword?" she asks; knowing that she'd probably be punished for this later, "I mean, you have it back now… so no harm done." Danielle flinches at the manic look in Bellatrix's eyes after that.

"Nobody asked your opinion GIRL!" She snaps before turning back to Hermione, "Besides, it does matter. This mudblood is lying. She didn't find it! She stole it! From me!"

"I didn't steal anything!" Hermione speaks up.

"LIAR!" Bellatrix shouts, "CRUCIO!"

"NO!" Danielle can't help but shout as she watches Hermione fall to the floor; screaming in agony. Narcissa and Lucius look at her suspiciously, but Danielle could care less at this point. "STOP! How do you know that it's your sword? You didn't even look at it that closely!" She also wanted to point out that it was the sword of Gryffindor; so how could Bellatrix own it at all?

"How dare you question me," the witch glares ruthlessly at Danielle. Lucius was looking livid as well. "For your information," Bellatrix continues, "That sword is supposed to be in my vault at Gingotts! What else did you steal, mudblood?"

"Nothing!" Hermione cries, "I haven't stolen anything!"

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouts and Hermione begins to twitch and scream again. Danielle's stomach turns as she watches her friend being tortured. Draco walked back into the room then without the snatcher, and quickly made his way over to her. Danielle instinctively grabbed onto his arm.

"I've got to do something," She whispers to him desperately. "I can't watch this. I can't just stand here." Hermione's screams still echoed through the room and Danielle tightened her grip on Draco. He didn't respond to her though; as he was too transfixed on the scene in front of him. He didn't seem to like what was happening either. He looked as sick as Danielle felt.

"I'll ask one more time! How did you get into my vault, and what else did you take?!" Bellatrix's high pitched voice shouts.

"I wasn't in your vault," Hermione's voice comes out horse from the screaming. Tears were leaking out of her eyes, and Danielle could hardly stand it. Her brain was clicking away trying to think of what to do. This couldn't be game over, could it? There was no way the war was about to end like this.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouts one more time when suddenly Ron and Harry burst into the room.

"LET HER GO!" Ron shouts. Lucius instantly aims his wand at the boys, but Ron's too fast.

"Stupefy!" he shouts, blasting Draco's dad back into the wall. Narcissa makes a yelping noise and moves to go help her Husband up. Danielle smiles through her shock before turning to look at Draco.

"They must have been able to knock that Snatcher out and take his wand," he shrugs before pulling out his own wand. He fired a few weak hexes out, but none of them came close to hitting Harry or Ron. Danielle wondered what had come over him. Oh well, she thought, before looking around to assess the situation. Ron was dodging Bellatrix's killing curses while Harry tried to help Hermione up since he didn't have a wand. The three snatchers noticed his vulnerability though and began creeping over to him. Danielle looked over at Narcissa to see her still fussing over her husband. Good, Danielle thinks, she won't see this then. She pulls out her own wand and quickly stuns the three snatchers before they can get into either Harry or Ron's way.

"Accio Sword," Danielle points her wand at one of the snatchers causing the sword of Gryffindor to fly into her grasp. It was heavier than she expected. She almost fell over from the weight.

"What are you doing?" Draco looks at her like she's nuts.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron' voice shouts out then and Bellatrix's wand flies out of her hand before landing right by Draco's feet. He bends down to pick it up, but suddenly Harry is right there in front of them.

"Harry!" Danielle gasps. She had no idea what to say to him so all she did was hand him the sword. She was still in awe of seeing him after so long, and so relieved to see he was putting up a fight. He might actually even get out of here. Harry nods at her before turning to Draco.

"Sorry, but I need a wand," he says, and lunges at Draco; grabbing onto Bellatrix's wand. "And, I'm not taking Danielle's."

"Are you insane Potter?!" Draco's face fell into one of pure hatred as he tries to hang onto the wands in his hands. "I need that!" Harry wins the fight though, and successfully snatches the weapons up for himself.

"It's great to see you again Danielle," Harry smiles before looking back to Draco, "You better be taking care of her, Malfoy." Draco only leaps back at Harry angrily.

"Give me back my wand!" He shouts, but Harry had already run back to Ron's side. Lucius was back up now, so he and Narcissa were trying to fight the two Gryffindors. Bellatrix was just getting back up after being disarmed, and slowly crawled over to Hermione after taking a wand from one of the stunned Snatchers. Danielle lifts her own wand; prepared to jump into the fight, but something completely random happens then that stops her. A house elf, one that Danielle was sure she'd never seen before, had just popped into the middle of the room.

"Dobby!" Harry shouts at the elf.

"Dobby has come to save Harry Potter and his Friends!" The elf smiles happily, "Grab my hand." Danielle watches in total disbelief as Harry and Ron run toward the elf and grab onto one of his hands. His other hand was already gripping onto Hermione.

"NO!" Bellatrix shouts furiously; but it was too late. In the blink of an eye, the four had disapperated.

"NO," Bellatrix hollers again as she runs towards the spot that Harry Potter and his friends had just vanished from. "NOOO!"

Danielle was standing with one hand gripping Draco's shoulder, and the other hanging at her side holding her wand. What had just happened? She had no idea. Everything had gone so quickly, she wasn't even sure if it happened at all. Harry and the others were apparently safe though, which meant Danielle now had to worry about what might happen to herself.

"Narcissa! I thought there were anti-disapperating wards around the manor! You told me nobody could get in or out!" Bellatrix was livid and stormed around the room looking wild.

"There are Bella," Narcissa whispers. "I did not lie to you."

"Then where are they?" Bellatrix shouts still scanning the room, "How did they escape?"

"Anti-apperation spells don't work on house elves," Danielle felt the need to speak up. Draco's parents and Bellatrix all turned and looked at her then.

"Draco, shut that girl up or I'll do it for you!" Bellatrix snaps. Draco looks down at Danielle with a pleading look in his eyes. He was telling her to shut up. Fine, Danielle nods her head at him and looks down. She didn't want to talk to the death eaters anyway.

"Now," Bellatrix goes back to pacing around the room, "Where's my wand." Narcissa and Lucius began looking around the ground in a panic. "Well?!" the angry woman shouts again, "WHERE IS IT?!"

"Aunt Bella, I think one of them might have taken your wand before they left." Draco announces and holds out his own empty hands. "Potter snatched my wand too. I'm pretty sure I saw them grab the sword as well."

"Oh Draco!" Narcissa gasps before looking to her husband, "Oh no. Lucius…"

"How could you let this happen?" Lucius turns to the snatcher that had gone to the dungeons earlier with Draco. He was just coming back into the room now. He looked slightly dizzy. "Why did you let Potter escape?"

"I didn't LET him; they ambushed me while I was down there!" The guys tries to defend himself, "But you should know that the house elf got the girl out too; the blonde one."

"Luna," Danielle whispers to herself in relief. "Thank god."

"How could they have ambushed you? Draco was down there with you, wasn't he?" Narcissa frowns and then looks to her son.

"Everything looked fine when I was down there," Draco shrugs, "This guy was just locking up when I decided to come back up here. I thought he had it under control."

"Well none of that matters now! They have my wand!" Bellatrix narrows her eyes, "and Draco's!"

"What are we going to tell the dark lord?" Lucius asks quietly.

"Nothing!" Narcissa says as if it were obvious, "Do you have any idea how angry he'll be. Remember what happened with Rowle? The dark lord can never know!"

"He will find out eventually" Bellatrix growls, "He will wonder what happened to our wands."

"What are you suggesting we do then, Bella?" Lucius curls his lip.

"We must call him back," She sneers, "right now. Do it." Danielle knew they were in trouble as she watches Draco's father roll up his sleeve to reveal his dark mark. He hesitated a moment before pressing his wand to it. No turning back now, Danielle sighs. She knew she'd most likely be punished along with the others. Oh well, at least Harry was safe and had the sword.


	65. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Three

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Three

"Tracy! Did you see?" Seamus comes running over to the Ravenclaw looking frantic, "Did you see your coin?"

"Yes, I had it right with me when it heated up," Tracy sighs as she gets off her hammock. Her mind was still spinning; trying to make sense of what she'd just read. She didn't know whether to feel overjoyed or distraught. Her friends had escaped, but that didn't change the fact that they'd been caught in the first place, that Hermione had been tortured, and that Danielle was left at the manor to deal with the aftermath of it all.

"I can't believe they were captured," Abby had heard the news as well. She was teary eyed at the thought of her friends in danger.

"They got away though Abby!" Seamus smiles down at the girl, "Like they always do! And they've got the sword with them! That's excellent!"

"But how did they get it in the first place?" Tracy hums in thought. Something wasn't sitting right with her, "Danielle said that Harry had the sword when they were captured. Snape hadn't sent it to Malfoy Manor like we thought he might have."

"Who cares how he got it" Seamus laughs, "Everything worked out perfectly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are still safe, Luna is no longer locked up in a dungeon, and the sword of Gryffindor is finally in the right hands."

"My sister said they escaped with a house elf named Dobby," Abby adds in, "that's pretty random."

"Harry knows Dobby," Tracy explains, "he used to be one of the Malfoys house elves, actually. In Harry's second year at Hogwarts, Dobby snuck away from the manor to try and warn him about the chamber of secrets. Harry, in turn, helped free Dobby from his enslavement. They've been friends ever since."

"But how would Dobby have known to go to the manor?" Abby asks, "How did he know that Harry was in trouble?"

"I'm not sure," Tracy admits. "But now that Harry's avoided capture a second time, you-know-who isn't going to be happy."

"Danielle said that you-know-who was going to the manor now, right?" Seamus' face suddenly falls, "You don't think she'll be blamed do you?"

"What?!" Abby gasps, "Of course he won't blame her! She didn't help Harry escape, the house elf did!"

"We don't know all the details," Tracy sighs, "I'm worried about her though."

"Malfoy will protect her," Abby declares confidently. "Remember what Harry said before he left? He said that Malfoy liked my sister or something…"

"What!?" Seamus balks, "Harry never said that! Malfoy hates Danielle!"

"I know what Harry said! You just weren't there! He said Malfoy values her!" Abby stomps her foot. "That means he won't let her get hurt!"

"Guys," Tracy breaks up the ridiculous argument, "Whatever Draco feels… it doesn't matter because he doesn't have his wand anymore. And even if he did, I doubt he could do anything against you-know-who. We're just going to have to wait to see how everything pans out. Maybe you-know-who will go easy on the Malfoys. Danielle will let us know everything once it happens."

"If she's even still around to tell us…" Seamus says darkly.

"Don't say that!" Abby balls up her fists threateningly.

"We shouldn't have let her go back," Seamus shakes his head, "I tried to tell you guys! She should have stayed here!"

"It was ultimately her choice to go," Tracy frowns even though she did feel a bit guilty for pushing her friend to leave Hogwarts in the first place. "And if she wasn't there, we would have never known about Luna or about what just happened today."

"Knowing those things isn't worth her life!" Seamus argues, "And she wouldn't have chosen to go if you and Ginny hadn't put the idea in her head!"

"Seamus, mate, calm down" Neville comes over now, "I know you're just worried about her. We all are though, trust me."

"The war has all of us on edge," Tracy agrees, "these horrible things are causing tension between us, but we have to resist fighting. There is enough going on without meaningless squabbles."

"I just hate feeling helpless," Seamus takes a deep breath, "I want to help her but I can't."

"She'll be fine," Abby nods her head determinedly. "I know she will."

* * *

"Avada Kadavra!" With a flash of green light, the last of the three snatchers falls dead on the floor. Voldemort then turns his gaze at the three death eaters kneeling at his feet. Danielle's heart pounded in her chest, knowing that any moment Draco could be next to go. Narcissa was standing next to Danielle against the wall looking bone white. She could very well lose both her husband and son tonight.

"My lord, if you just…"

"CRUCIO!" Voldemort jabs his wand at Lucius who crumples to the floor; howling in pain. Narcissa let out a whimper but didn't move a muscle. Danielle watched the man convulse on the floor in shock. Lucius Malfoy, the richest, most powerful pureblood in the world; and look at him now. Danielle could hardly stand to watch it. She'd feared Lucius once and probably still would if he weren't so broken and vulnerable. Right now she actually felt sorry for him though. Danielle tried to imagine Dumbledore punishing her in this way had she failed to help Draco fix the vanishing cabinet. The idea was laughable. This was why Voldemort had to be defeated; he didn't even care about the people who bowed at his feet and obeyed his every order. Dumbledore would have never harmed anyone for making a mistake.

"You disgust me Lucius," the dark lord spits after he finally lifts the curse. Lucius rolls over with a groan and begins wheezing in pain. "And you Bellatrix? Disarmed by a child? Despicable!" Another flick of the wand and now Bellatrix was squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her fists in pain. She was able to hold in her screams unlike Lucius. "What use are any of you now without wands?" The dark lord asks with a sneer. Bellatrix couldn't answer because she was too busy fighting to keep herself from wailing in response to the torture curse.

"Draco can have my wand," Narcissa chimes in suddenly, "Please. I don't mind." Danielle was actually surprised by the woman's bravery. She didn't usually speak out of turn. Her motherly instincts must be kicking in or something.

"What a generous mother you have Draco," Voldemort sneers down at Draco who was now visibly trembling in fear. Danielle saw Bellatrix look over in her direction expectantly. Danielle just turned her head. Like hell she was going to give her wand to that psychotic woman. "Mommy can't protect you from your punishment though," Voldemort grins, "Crucio!" The sound that came from Draco's mouth as he fell to the ground was the worst thing Danielle had ever heard in her entire life. It sent a shock straight to her chest and tears sprung up in her eyes. She instinctively took a step forward.

"What's this?" Voldemort smiles and lifts the curse off of Draco almost immediately. He turns to face Danielle, "Are you going to try and save him, Ms. Emmings?" Danielle cursed herself silently for acting so reckless. She hadn't been able to help it though. Seeing Draco in pain caused her pain, especially after seeing what happened to Hermione just a few hours before. "Do not be afraid," Voldemort frowns when Danielle doesn't answer his question, "the dark lord values loyalty. Tell me, would you give your life to save Draco's?"

Danielle looked down at the blonde as she tried to think of a way out of the situation she had just gotten herself into. All she could think of was Voldemort's question though. Would she give her life to save Draco? Maybe the answer was obvious. Look at everything she'd already done. She'd endangered herself on more than one occasion to save him already, and after just having involuntarily stepped forward like she had only cemented the truth. Draco was staring at her with his blue eyes wide; he shook his head at her. She ignored him and looked at Voldemort straight on, "Yes," she tells him firmly. Draco releases a breath and lets his head fall back to the floor. He didn't look happy.

"Extraordinary," Voldemort gasps, looking very much intrigued, "how unfortunate for you to join a family of Slytherins then. You would give up your life for them, and they would not do the same for you; I'm sure of it. Take my advice girl, you could do much better."

"I could do much worse, as well" The words fell from her mouth before she could stop them. Draco let out a groan but Danielle didn't take her eyes off of the abomination in front of her.

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," Voldemort narrows his eyes, "The Malfoys are nothing. They will lose all their power and their wealth by the end of this war. They will disappoint you, just as they've disappointed me."

"I don't care about power or wealth," Danielle says bravely. "I just want you to let Draco go unharmed."

"And you're willing to take his punishment in order to achieve that?" was the dark reply. Danielle's throat constricted in fear but she kept her head high and nodded confidently. Voldemort stayed silent for a moment; apparently mulling everything over in his head before looking to Draco.

"Take your fiancée and get out of my sight," He snaps, "and you might want to take a page out of her book and learn something about honor and allegiance." Draco carefully pushes himself off the floor and stumbles over to Danielle who quickly moves to his side to help him. She doesn't say another word as she walks him out of the drawing room and upstairs to her bedroom.

"What a freaking hypocrite!" Danielle explodes as she slams her door closed. "**HONOR** AND **ALLEGIANCE**, HUH? IS THAT WHAT HE CALLS TORTURING HIS OWN BLOODY FOLLOWERS?!"

"Danielle," Draco raises his voice to get her attention, "Stop yelling! Are you mad?" Danielle whipped around to look at him and the anger melts off her face. She lets out a sigh of relief before throwing her arms around him.

"Are you alright?" She asks.

"I… yes," He pushes her away roughly, "But what were you thinking?! Why did you do that!? You could have gotten yourself killed!"

"You were defenseless! I wasn't about to watch him torture you! You didn't do anything wrong!" Danielle knew she shouldn't be yelling at him, but she was just worked up. She was on an adrenalin rush or something. She could still feel her heart slamming inside of her ribcage. She was so angry, yet so relieved.

"Neither did you! Yet, you told him you'd take my punishment!" Draco throws his arms in the air, "That you'd die for me? What the hell? Are you nuts?"

"I didn't want him hurting you again," Danielle declares, "He's put you through too much and I just can't take it anymore. It's ridiculous. He's the one that's out of his mind! Trying to talk about loyalty when he's standing there making his own people suffer! It's a bunch of bull!"

"You shouldn't have done that though," Draco sighs and falls into the desk chair suddenly looking a little embarrassed, "You didn't have to."

"You didn't have to lie about Harry and the others but you did," Danielle mumbles then.

"Yeah, and then he took my freaking wand!" Draco snaps.

"I don't think it was anything personal," Danielle tries to defend Harry, "and your mother said she'd give you hers."

"It won't be the same," he mutters.

"I know," Danielle sighs before sitting on her bed. "Thank you for lying about Harry though and for not telling anybody I helped him escape with the sword."

Draco shrugs looking even more embarrassed now, "thank YOU for standing up for me downstairs just now." Their talk was then interrupted by gut wrenching screams from downstairs. It was Bellatrix again.

"I don't want to hear this," Danielle admits with a grimace. Lucius began howling again then and Draco's face went pale.

"Me either," He says. "I hope it doesn't last too long."

* * *

"You'll never guess what your idiot boyfriend did this time," Aberforth Dumbledore tells Tracy after she climbs out of the tunnel connecting the room of requirement with the room above the hog's head.

"Harry's been spotted again?" Tracy gasps in shock. Harry had only just escaped from the Malfoys the day before. What sort of trouble had he gotten himself into already?

"Spotted? Ha! He and those friends of his broke into Gringotts!" Aberforth throws down that day's copy of the Daily Prophet on the table in front of Tracy. On the front was a picture of Harry, Ron, and Hermione crashing through the roof of the most highly secured, most well known wizarding bank on the back of a full grown dragon. "Foolish! That boy! What's he think he's doing?" Aberforth continues as he wanders over to a cabinet to start putting together some food for Tracy to take back to the rest of the DA.

"You know he's on a mission, don't you?" Tracy asks curiously, looking up from the paper. She knew there had to have been a horcrux in Gringotts, but she didn't know what to think about the whole Dragon thing. That did seem a bit foolish, "Your brother was the one who gave Harry instructions on how to defeat you-know-who."

"My brother was a fool too!" Aberforth snaps, "And he's dead. Potter is only what? 17? He shouldn't be out on his own. I don't care how powerful or special he thinks he is. This is a war and he can't fight it on his own!"

Tracy thought about defending Harry but decided against it. Aberforth was always being pessimistic. She didn't want to argue with him and give him any reason to stop helping her and the others in the DA. Without Aberforth they would all be having a lot more trouble trying to survive. Also, she didn't like hearing him talk so badly about Dumbledore.

"Can you carry all this yourself?" Aberforth asks after a moment.

"Yeah, I should be ok." Tracy replies and grabs the bags that Aberforth had packed for her. "Thanks again for all of this Aberforth."

"Don't mention it," He says with a nod. Tracy couldn't get over how much he looked like his brother. Sometimes she felt like the old headmaster hadn't died after all. "I'm just glad you kids found somewhere safe to stay away from those darn death eaters."

When Tracy got back to the room of requirement, she was ambushed by the entire DA. The moment she walked through the door, they rushed around her, shouting and smiling.

"What is going on?" Tracy lets out a laugh as Abby pushes past Neville and holds her DA coin out for Tracy to see.

"It's from Ginny!" Abby tells her excitedly. "Luna made it back to the Order's headquarters! She said her older brother Bill dropped Luna off there just now! Harry and the others aren't with her though. Luna says she doesn't know where they went."

Information started putting itself together in Tracy's head. When Ron, Hermione, and Harry escaped from Malfoy Manor with Luna they must have went to Shell Cottage. That way Bill could take Luna back to be with the Order while Harry and the others could continue looking for horcruxes without having to explain the whole thing to anyone else. "I know where they went," Tracy says finally and holds up the daily prophet. She smiles at their surprised faces.

"You must be joking!" Seamus gasps, "You can't break into Gringotts! It's impossible!"

"Well Harry did," Tracy smiles.

"Look at Ron's face!" Abby bursts out laughing as she takes a closer look at the picture in the paper. Everyone leans over to get a better look.

"He could have smiled for the camera," Cho says teasingly, "He could catch flies screaming like that."

"I don't think you can help the faces you make when you're riding a dragon," Tracy laughs.

"I wonder what they went in there for though," Neville sighs.

"Something important, obviously" Abby grins even though what she was saying was true, "Something to stop you-know-who and save us all!"

* * *

**So, what do you all think? Did it shock you that Danielle told Voldemort that she'd take Draco's punishment, or even give her life to save his? I thought that was a pretty monumental moment.**

**Also, I wanted to thank you all for being so patient while Draco and Danielle sort out their feelings for one another. I'm trying to make it as believable as possible which is why the romance isn't so obvious right now. The two of them are in the middle of a war at the moment so I think love and being in a relationship is the last thing on their mind. If you look closely though, I think you'll see that they are starting to warm up to each other without even realizing it. It's important to me that each character stays true to their personality. Draco started off so cruel and horrible while Danielle remains very firm in her beliefs and morals. They were polar opposites to begin with so it would be very difficult to get them together without the process of Draco realizing who HE actually is and Danielle coming to terms with the fact that Draco IS really just as important as her other friends and family. They are both stubborn but I think that'll make the build up even better. The two of them just need to find a happy medium since they both have such strong personalities :) (Just think of how long it took for Ron and Hermione to realize that they wanted each other in the original books... sometimes love doesn't come easy)**


	66. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Four

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Four

While Tracy and the DA were at Hogwarts celebrating Harry's success, Danielle was back at the manor with the Malfoys receiving the consequences of it. Harry hadn't just broken into Gringotts; he'd broken into Bellatrix's vault. When Danielle had heard this news, she had wanted to hunt down Harry herself and whap him upside the head. Had he taken Bellatrix's false accusations as a challenge or something? She hoped he was proud of himself, because he was just making life at the Manor even more miserable for her. Danielle wasn't even sure how it was even possible for Harry to get into Gringotts… it wasn't possible. That was the place's motto for crying out loud 'Gringotts: there's no safer place.' Leave it to Harry Potter to prove them wrong.

"I agree that it is annoying Bellatrix," Voldemort glared at her, "But why must you waste my time complaining about it to me? Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough lately?"

"My lord," Bellatrix looks down in shame, "It's just that… Potter… he…"

"Out with it!" Voldemort bellows loudly causing Narcissa to flinch in fear next to Danielle.

"I'm afraid that he… he took your cup," Bellatrix stutters out before falling to her knees to bow. "I'm so sorry my lord. Let me go look for the boy. I'll get it back."

Voldemort wasn't listening. His face fell into what Danielle could only describe as fear, which was a very big change from his normal looks of fury, or manic happiness. It didn't make sense though. Why in the world would the wizarding world's most evil inhabitant be afraid of Harry stealing a cup? Danielle could not, in any stretch of her imagination, come up with anything extremely significant about a cup. Was there a connection between the cup and the sword? Tracy hadn't mentioned anything about a cup. Danielle wondered if any of this would even make sense to Tracy, who was the only other person besides Ron and Hermione who knew what Harry's task was, because it certainly didn't make sense to her.

"He knows…" Voldemort murmurs to himself looking extremely grim.

"My Lord, if I may; what is so important about the cup?" Lucius speaks but he does not get an answer.

"Contact Severus immediately," Voldemort orders, "Tell him that Harry Potter is going to try to get into the school."

"How can you be sure, my lord?" Lucius asks looking confused. "Potter would be stupid to try to get into Hogwarts. He'd be captured immediately. Snape has the place on lock down. Nobody would be able to get in without him knowing."

"JUST DO IT LUCIUS!" Voldemort shouts. "After you talk to Severus I want you to start rallying up as many death eaters as you can. If I summon you than you must meet me as quickly as you can in the forbidden forest by the school and bring the death eaters with you."

"Yes, my lord." Lucius bows obediently. Voldemort vanishes then leaving everyone feeling extremely confused, and a bit relieved. Nobody had gotten tortured this time around, thank goodness. Draco's dad quickly went to work contacting Severus, while Bellatrix started contacting other death eaters.

"He's going to attack Hogwarts," Danielle looks up at Draco who was standing next to her looking worried. "He's rounding up his army. Why would he do that if he wasn't planning on fighting?" Draco shrugs. "It's kind of silly though, don't you think?" Danielle continues, "Fighting over a cup… ridiculous."

* * *

Tracy was sitting on the floor playing exploding snap with Abby when there was a loud knock on the door that led to the hog's head. Everyone instantly got quiet and looked at each other nervously. Nobody who knew about their hideout ever knocked, they just came in.

"Must be Aberforth," Seamus breaks the silence.

"He's never come before," Cho says and pulls out her wand just in case. Everyone else does the same. Neville was the brave one to slowly get up and make his way toward the door. He holds up his wand with one hand as he cautiously reaches out with the other to pull the door open.

"Merlin!" Neville breaks into a smile and lowers his wand instantly. "I knew you'd come!"

"Who is it?" Tracy asks as she pushes herself off the ground. She reaches down to pull Abby up too before heading over towards Neville to see who the visitor was. Everyone else was crowding over as well out of curiosity. Neville pushed the door open all the way and Tracy bursts into tears.

"HARRY! Oh my god!" She runs forward and throws her arms around her boyfriend whom she hadn't seen in ten months. Hermione and Ron smile and step out from behind the kissing couple. The entire DA starts cheering and applauding loudly. It was a dream come true seeing those three back at Hogwarts.

"RON!" Abby grins and nearly jumps on top of the red head in her joy.

"Hey!" He laughs as he returns her hug. "I don't remember you being so tall!"

"Harry, oh my god, I can't believe it's really you!" Tracy was still squeezing Harry to death and crying like a crazy woman.

"I know! I've missed you so much!" He smiles back at her before pulling her into another kiss.

"How did you know where the passage was?" Seamus asks curiously; looking around at the three legendary Gryffindors.

"We didn't know," Hermione answers for him, "We just got lucky and ran into Aberforth in Hogsmead."

"I'm so happy to see you guys," Tracy smiles tearfully as she finally lets Harry go. "But why are you here?"

"Hold on," Cho laughs and holds up her DA coin, "Danielle's just sent a message out telling us that Harry might show up here."

"She was a little late with that one," Neville laughs.

"You guys still use the DA coins I made?" Hermione asks in shock.

"Yeah!" Abby cheers, "They're so awesome! We sent my sister away with one. That's how we know all about you guys going to Malfoy Manor and rescuing Luna!"

"You know about all that?" Harry asks looking stunned. Abby nods her head eagerly.

"Brilliant!" Ron laughs as he ruffles up the girl's hair, "Looks like you guys have been working hard."

"So have you!" Tracy points out, "My gosh, you broke into the ministry, had a run in with death eaters at the Lovegoods place, were captured and taken to Malfoy Manor, and just yesterday broke into Gringotts!"

"That's not even the half of it," Ron lets out a sigh before smiling a little.

"What was it like riding a dragon?" Abby asks excitedly.

"Nothing like riding a broom," Harry frowns as he pulls up his sleeves to reveal red shiny burns.

"Guys!" Cho then speaks up once again looking a lot less amused, "My coin just warmed up again. Danielle says that you-know-who is rallying up his death eaters to come here!" Tracy turns to Harry in shock.

"Right," He sighs, "I knew he'd find out pretty quickly after getting that cup from Gringotts."

"Cup?" Tracy asks before gasping, "Harry, you don't mean to say that he knows that you know about his… secret."

"That's exactly what I mean to say," was the tired reply. The joy from moments ago was gone now. There happy reunion was over before it had hardly begun.

"What secret?" Seamus asks with a frown.

"What's this about a cup?" Neville adds. Harry opens his mouth to speak when the door behind him opens up again. Two people walk in.

"GINNY! LUNA!" Tracy's eyes fill with tears again and she runs over to embrace her friends. "Luna, I'm so glad you're alright! Danielle told us everything with the coins."

"That was nice of her," Luna smiles dreamily.

"yeah, but how'd you guys get here?" Neville looks at Ginny for the answer.

"Aberforth sent a message to the order to tell them that Harry had showed up at Hogwarts," Ginny explains. "He's a member of the order you know. We came as soon as we heard. Mom's not happy but she'll get over it. The whole order is on the way anyway. So, what's the plan Harry?"

"The order of the phoenix?" Hermione asks in shock, "Are you serious? We're not here to fight!"

"You are now," Ginny crosses her arms. "I saw what Danielle sent on the coins. The death eaters are coming. So, again, what's the plan?"

"Come on Harry, we're all here now!" Neville cheers, "Tell us what to do!"

"Look, we don't have any plans for a fight." Harry explains, "We came here to find something that is going to help us defeat Voldemort."

"HARRY! NO!" Abby panics, "Don't you know that they put a trace on his name?" Harry gives the girl a smile.

"I do know, but it doesn't matter anymore. Voldemort knows I'm here and he's coming regardless of what we call him," he explains.

"Oh," Abby blushes, "Well then… what do you need us to help you find?"

"Well, we don't really know what it is," Harry frowns.

"Where in the school is it then?" Neville asks.

"We don't know that either," Hermione confesses.

"You must be joking!" Seamus says in disbelief.

"We're not," Ron says.

"But we know it'll be something small," Hermione chimes in. "Something really valuable that can be easily hidden."

"We think it has something to do with Ravenclaw," Harry concludes and everyone turns to look between Tracy, Cho, Luna, Terry and Anthony who all belonged to that house. Tracy knew that Harry was talking about a horcrux, but she didn't know much about her house since she hadn't been going to Hogwarts for very long.

"What about Rowenda Ravenclaw's lost diadem?" Luna asks after a moment.

"A lost what?" Ron asks.

"It's like tiara or a crown," Cho explains. "But I doubt what you're looking for has anything to do with it. It's been lost for centuries. There isn't a person alive who's seen it."

"There's a picture of Rowenda and her diadem in the Ravenclaw common room," Luna mentions. "Maybe you could decide if it's important after you see it."

"Well … since it's the only lead we have I guess it can't hurt." Hermione sighs.

"How will Harry get there though?" Abby asks, "It's almost impossible to get through the halls."

Harry then pulls out what looks to be a cloak and wraps it around himself. He vanished from sight immediately. Tracy smiled as all the DA members gasped in amazement.

"It's an invisibility cloak," Harry's disembodied voice explains.

"I'll show you the way to the Ravenclaw common room," Tracy tells Harry before climbing under the invisibility cloak with him. "Everyone else should just wait here till we get back."

"So how many horcruxes have you actually found and destroyed?" Tracy whispers to Harry as they take the familiar path to the Ravenclaw common room. She was still overjoyed to see Harry again, but things were so serious right now that she had to stay focused. They had a job to do.

"Well, you already know I destroyed the diary in the chamber of secrets, and that Dumbledore destroyed the ring that belonged to Voldemort's family," Harry explains, "Of course, Ron told you about the locket that we stole from the ministry too. Thanks for helping him come back to us by the way."

"No problem, he did most of the work though. I just inspired him to try harder," Tracy shrugs, "But what about you going to Mr. Lovegood's house? And Gringotts? And what about the sword of Gryffindor? Danielle told me you guys had it when you came to the manor. How is that possible? It was in Snape's office at the beginning of the year. I saw it with my own eyes."

"I'm honestly not sure," Harry says seriously, "Ron and I just found it in the middle of some forest we were staying in. But we used it to destroy the locket in any case. The most recent horcrux is the golden cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff that we got from Gringotts. We haven't been able to destroy that yet though because while we were in Gringotts, a goblin stole the sword from us."

"A goblin?" Tracy gasps, "Harry!"

"I know," He shakes his head, "It's ridiculous. But that makes four found and three destroyed. This diadem will make five, if it really is a horcrux, and we're pretty sure Voldemort's snake is one as well. That's six."

"Wow," Tracy can hardly wrap her head around it all, "But what about Luna's dad? Why were you there?"

"That's a whole other can of worms," Harry scratches his head, "Hermione found this weird symbol in the book Dumbledore left her in his will. And as we traveled, we kept seeing the symbol popping up. I remembered seeing Luna's father wearing a pendent in the same shape before so we went to him to check it out. Turns out it's the sign of the deathly hallows."

"The deathly hallows?" Tracy raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, there's a whole story behind it, but basically there are three objects that when brought together, make a person immortal," Harry explains.

"That's impossible!" Tracy frowns, "That can't be right."

"That's what Hermione says too," Harry shrugs, "I don't really know what to think. But apparently the objects are an unbeatable wand, a stone that can resurrect the dead, and a cloak of invisibility."

"Harry…" Tracy looks to the cloak around them and lets out a little laugh.

"I know," Harry smiles, "Ron's dead set on this cloak being the one from the story. I don't know though, like I said. I'm just trying to deal with these horcruxes."

"Yeah, and I don't like the idea of a resurrection stone," Tracy frowns as they finally make it to the Ravenclaw common room. She quickly says the password and they slip inside. Harry pulls the invisibility cloak off and rushes over towards the old painting by the window.

"So, what do you think?" Tracy asks.

"Well, this would be the kind of object he would use." Harry sighs as he rubs his fingers over the diadem sitting on top of Rowenda's head. "But Luna said it was lost didn't she?"

"I'm sorry Harry, I don't know much about it." Tracy admits.

"POTTER!"

Tracy and Harry turn towards the door to see Amycus Carrow walking in, already pressing his wand to his dark mark to call Voldemort. "The dark lord told us you might be dropping by tonight," He grins.

"IMPEDIMENTA!" Tracy says with a wave of her wand. Amycus' whole body flies off the ground while simultaneously becoming bound by magical rope before crashing down on the floor.

"Wow," Harry turns to his girlfriend with his eyebrows raised, "You're good."

"Thanks," Tracy smiles but then lifts her wand back up when the common room door opens again. It was only McGonagall this time though. Tracy was thrilled to see her.

"Potter? Is that you?" She gasps in shock. "I thought I heard a commotion. Ms. Ross? Good heavens I haven't seen you since everyone in the DA disappeared. And what happened to poor Amycus?" The last question was said with amusement though.

"He called Voldemort with his mark," Tracy explains to her favorite professor.

"Oh dear," McGonagall frowns before turning to Harry. "Mr. Potter it was very foolish of you to come here! This is serious!"

"I know Professor," Harry says honestly, "And I'm very sorry to bring all this trouble with me. But there is something inside the school that I need in order to complete the job Dumbledore gave me."

"Well, in that case, I will get the other teachers together so we can secure the castle." Mcgonagall says in a business like way. "I'm not sure how to get the other students out safely however."

"There is a passageway in the room of requirement. That's where the others in the DA and I have been staying. It leads out into the Hog's Head. Aberforth is there." Tracy explains quickly, "We can get people out that way."

"Very good Ms. Ross," Mcgonagall nods at her approvingly. "Why don't you and Harry go and inform the DA of what's going on. Tell them that I'll start sending the students over there, and that anybody who is 17 or older may stay and fight if they so choose."

"Right," Tracy nods before looking to Harry, "Let's go."

* * *

**Sorry for the lack of Draco/Danielle action in this chapter, but this part was important to the plot. Do you guys like Tracy? I hope you do because she's crucial to the story AND an important person in Danielle's life.**


	67. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Five

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Five

"I'm going," Danielle looks at Draco seriously. She had just received a message on her DA coin from her sister that said Harry, Ron, and Hermione had shown up at Hogwarts just like she had told them they might. Danielle had already assumed that much though. Draco's mark had just begun to burn meaning he was being summoned to the Forbidden Forest right outside of the school.

"Not a chance!" Draco says as he pulls his death eater robes on.

"I'm not staying here by myself!" Danielle clutches her wand angrily. "Even your mother is going!"

"Yes, but she will be staying out of the way. She won't be fighting!" Draco retorts and pulls on his mask so all Danielle could see of his face was his eyes. "Besides, I've never taken you with me on a mission before."

"This is different and you know it!" Danielle bites out. "And who cares if I'm fighting? Everyone I care about is going to be at Hogwarts tonight. My best friend, my little sister,… you… I'm not going to let you leave me behind."

"I'm not going to argue with you about this," Draco says stubbornly. "You're staying here."

Danielle narrows her eyes at the blonde, "I know you're trying to protect me and that you don't want me to get hurt but you can't just leave me here by myself."

"I can, actually." Draco says arrogantly and Danielle raises an eyebrow.

"I will not be kept here against my will," She tells him seriously, "I can get away if I really want. It would make my life easier if you cooperated but don't think I won't find a way if you don't help me."

Draco sighs, "You are absolutely insufferable."

"So are you," Danielle fires back. They both remained silent for a moment before Draco responds.

"Fine," He gives in, "I'll take you. But I'd rather my parents not know." He waves his wand and a second death eater cloak appears. He hands it to Danielle, "Put this on and keep the hood up. I don't want you leaving my side until we get into the school."

"Ok," Danielle wasn't going to argue with that. She slipped the cloak on and pulled the hood up. She still couldn't believe any of this was really happening though. She knew she should be scared, and she was, but not for herself. She was terrified of something horrible happening to one of her friends, or to her sister, who was only 12 years old and would not be able to defend herself at all against people like Bellatrix, Greyback, the Carrows, Snape, or even Mr. Nott. Danielle wasn't even sure she could handle fighting those people. She would try though. She would fight until her last breath if that's what it came down to because what was happening in the world right now was not right. Voldemort needed to be stopped. She had seen his cruelty first hand and hopefully it would be put to an end tonight.

"Are you ready to go?" Draco asks her quickly then. She nods her head before following him out the door. She started wondering if that was the last time she'd ever see her bedroom at Malfoy Manor, but pushed the thoughts out of her head when she realized how morbid they were. She wasn't going to lie to herself though, anything could happen tonight.

* * *

"Where did Ron and Hermione go?" Harry asks once he and Tracy get back to the room of requirement.

"We don't know," Neville shrugs, "They started talking about destroying something, got really excited, and ran out."

"That's odd," Harry frowned before looking to Tracy, "I wonder why they didn't just wait for us to get back." Tracy shrugged. Hopefully the two had somehow figured out a way to destroy the remaining horcruxes without the sword.

"So, what's going on?" Luna asks seriously, "Did you figure out if the diadem is what you were looking for?"

"No," Harry says honestly, "But, you guys get your wish. McGonagall is preparing the school for a battle." Nobody looked particularly overjoyed by this news, but they did look determined.

"The moment we've all been preparing for is here," Tracy announces gravely, "Voldemort is coming. The teachers are going to send the students here to escape into Hogsmead before the danger arrives, but anyone who is of age will be allowed to stay and fight."

"You're joking!" Ginny gasps, "That's not fair. I'll be 17 in just a couple months!"

"We need someone to stay here and watch out for the younger kids anyway," Harry tells her seriously, "Someone has to make sure they get out safely."

"Yeah, and someone has to stay with me!" Abby announces. Ginny looks extremely frustrated but doesn't put up a fight. Starting an argument was just going to waste precious time before the death eaters arrived.

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Seamus shouts and thrusts his wand into the air, "Let's do this!" The rest of the DA members pull their wands out as well. It was scary, but this had been a long time coming. They had known it would come down to a fight sooner or later. The war had just finally come to a head, and they all needed to be brave and do everything they could to defend their freedom.

"Everyone who wants to fight, follow me to the great hall" Tracy announces, "Everyone else can either stay here to help the other students that come by, or leave the school through the hogs head to stay until everything is over."

"Good luck," Harry turns and gives Tracy another kiss after her speech, hoping it wouldn't be their last. He couldn't join the fight, at least not until all the horcruxes were found and destroyed. They knew they had to part ways again, but hopefully it wouldn't be for that long this time.

"Good luck to you too," Tracy nods, trying to keep her tears in check. "I'll see you later." She then beckons her friends to follow her out into the hall. They no longer tried to be quiet, or tried to hide. They marched right out into the open because finally, the time for keeping their heads down had passed.

* * *

"Thank you for coming everyone," The dark lord looks around at the group of death eaters that had assembled around him after being summoned. From what Danielle could tell there had to be at least one hundred people gathered in the forest clearing. And since Draco had the dark mark, and was in Voldemort's inner circle, he was in the very front of the group along with his mother and father. Danielle stood quietly behind him, praying that nobody would recognize her. Her fear was slowly creeping in more and more as she stood in the middle of the completely dark forbidden forest surrounded by hooded figures. It was like something out of a horror film. Danielle hoped to get away from everyone as soon as possible.

"At this very moment, Harry Potter is inside of Hogwarts," The dark lord continued, "AND at this very moment the entire school is attempting to secure itself in the hopes of keeping us out."

Danielle actually let out a sigh of relief at that bit of information. Thank goodness her friends and teachers were so smart. It would have been horrible if the death eaters had attacked them when they were completely unprepared. It would have been a massacre. Danielle just hoped her sister and the other little kids would be kept somewhere safe. No way should Abby be in the middle of a battle. Danielle pulled her hood in around her face as Voldemort paced by her with his pet snake at his heels. Hopefully he would not realize that she was there.

"They will not succeed," He continued on, "and once we penetrate their wards it will be the job of each and every one of you to search the school, find Potter, and bring him to me … alive. Kill anyone that stands in your way: man, woman, or child."

Danielle felt her stomach twist and her anger flare at these words. What sort of sick, deranged person said something like that? Danielle suddenly found her admiration for Draco growing as she realized how often he was subjected to this sort of talk. He really was a remarkable person. She prayed that he would stay safe tonight and make it out alive. He deserved that much.

"Now my servants, you are dismissed, but remember that I want Potter alive!" The dark lord shouts his command and the death eaters immediately scatter in all directions out of the forest to surround the school. Draco's hand found Danielle's and he pulled her along behind him. She was glad he had done that because with everyone wearing the same thing it would have been hard to keep track of him.

"So, what exactly is it that you're planning on doing once you get inside?" Draco asks her as they make their way through the trees; being careful not to run into any branches or trip on any hidden tree roots. The forbidden forest had been sort of a stupid place to hold a meeting, in Danielle's opinion; especially since the sun was down.

"I'm going to find Tracy and the other DA members" Danielle tells him honestly, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go and find Potter," Draco tells her.

"But… What?" Danielle stopped walking in shock but Draco pulled her arm to keep her moving.

"He has my wand," he tells her. "I want it back." Danielle didn't know how she felt about Draco going to find Harry but decided to dismiss her doubt. If Draco wanted to hurt Harry, he wouldn't have tried to protect him before. A moment later, they finally step out from the edge of the trees and get a full view of Hogwarts. It looked beautiful all lit up on this clear night.

"Danielle," Draco suddenly pulls her around roughly to face him, even though all she could see were his eyes through his mask. "I really wish you wouldn't fight." His voice was sincere, and the confession made Danielle falter a little.

"I already told you why I have to," she whispers.

"Most of the death eaters know who you are by now," Draco's voice sounded strained. "They know what you look like. As soon as you start fighting against them… they're not going to be pleased. They'll kill you." The cloaked figures around them began sending off spells toward the school to try and break down the wards. The spells looked like fireworks as they exploded off of the invisible dome surrounding the castle. Danielle shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"The death eaters know who a lot of people are," she tells Draco, "They'll be targeting me just as much as anybody else for being a blood traitor, or a muggleborn, or whatever else. The death eaters can probably all identify each of the Weasley's faces along with all the members of the Order. It's not just me who's in danger, you know." After she finish's speaking she sends a weak hex over toward the castle to make it look like she was actually doing something useful in case anybody looked over and noticed them.

"I know all of that," Draco mumbles and looks down at his feet, "I just… I don't care about the Weasleys or the order members." Danielle would have yelled at him for saying such a thing if she didn't know that he was just trying to make a point. She understood his dilemma. He was worried about her, and he didn't want to lose her. She was his first real friend; the first person to ever show him kindness without having some ulterior motive or expecting anything in return. She was important to him. Danielle knew he'd never say those things out loud, but she knew they were probably true anyway. And it made her sad to think he was so concerned for her. She couldn't sit out of this fight just for his sake though.

"I wish I had something I could say to you to make you feel better about all of this, but I don't" Danielle finally speaks up, "I don't know what's going to happen tonight. You and I though, we've faced a lot of scary and horrible things together already. I just don't want you going into this thinking we're doomed from the start. If that were true we'd have both been dead a hundred times over by now. But, so far we are undefeated, which is more than we can say about you-know -who. This is the second war that's he's tried to start, and it's the second one he's going to lose."

"I hope you're right," was Draco's quite response. He then turns away from Danielle and begins flinging spells towards the school like everyone else. Danielle lets out a sigh as she watches him; hoping that the two of them would come out of this in one piece.

* * *

**I really hoped you guys liked this chapter, especially the last chunk, because I think it really shows how conflicted Draco is about Danielle. He's nervous about her seeing that he cares, and he's still probably telling himself he shouldn't care, but I think you can see how terrified he is of losing her by what he tells her and the way he's acting. **


	68. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Six

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Six

"There are death eaters surrounding the school at this very moment," McGonagall announces to all the students gathered in the great hall, "The rest of the teachers and the order are doing their best to fend them off for the time being. It is inevitable, however, that they will eventually break through. I need you all to understand the seriousness of this situation. This is your last chance to reconsider your choice to participate in this fight."

"What happened to Snape and the Carrows?" Neville speaks up.

"The Carrows have both been taken care of;" McGonagall says proudly, "I saw to it personally. And, Snape has abandoned the school to go join the death eaters."

"Do you have any advice for us, Professor?" Parvati asks.

"Take as many death eaters out as possible," McGonagall says boldly, "Hold them off as long as you can so that Harry can find whatever it is he is looking for."

A few moments later, Tracy found herself heading out of the castle and out onto the grounds with Neville, Seamus, and Luna at her side. "This is it…" Neville says in awe. The four look up and watch as the wards around the school start to disappear all around them. They were being torn to pieces by the onslaught of spells the death eaters were sending at them. Tracy reaches out and grabs Neville and Luna's hands while looking at Seamus.

"Good luck tonight," Tracy tells them seriously. "And please be careful!"

"Of course," Seamus nods. "Tonight we show those death eaters what we're all about."

"That's right," Neville agrees, "Tonight we end it."

* * *

Danielle was feeing extremely out of place as the death eaters around her began to cheer at the wards around the school slowly giving way. She could see her teachers and friends coming out of the castle in order to meet their enemies head on. The scene in front of her was so surreal. She was going to be in an actual battle. The thought was terrifying. Battles were not her forte, healing was. She could do this though, she wasn't unprepared. Her months with the DA had provided her with knowledge and practice for this day. Another eruption of loud cheers pulled Danielle back to the present and she saw the death eaters starting to rush forward. It had begun. She took a hesitant step forward but was stopped short by Draco pulling her around again.

"Maybe you should just stay with me," He says quickly.

"I'll be fine," Danielle reassures him, "Don't worry about me. Keep yourself safe. We'll see each other just as soon as this is all over."

"You don't know that!" Draco grinds his teeth to fight the tears that began to blur his vision. The death eaters were still charging past them; thankfully not noticing them through their blood lust. Danielle reached up to pull Draco's mask off and felt a pang in her heart to see his face full of conflicted emotions. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a tight hug.

"I promise I'll do everything I can not to die as long as you do the same," She tells him as she backs out of their hug and looks up at Draco's face again. He was staring blankly at her as he nodded his head yes. "Good," Danielle smiles, "now come on."

The two made their way toward the castle together. People were already battling each other in a flurry of flashing spells and bodies. Danielle tried to spot Tracy, or anyone else in the DA, but it was nearly impossible to get a good luck at anyone's face. Draco still had her hand as he pulled her through the crowd and into the school. Danielle had her wand out, deflecting spells that came at them as they went.

"Malfoy!" Someone shouts just as soon as they get into the entrance hall. Danielle and Draco turn around to see Crabbe and Goyle coming out from the school's dungeons; where they knew Slytherin house was located. "We were waiting for you!" They say as they run up to Draco, who rolls his eyes in annoyance. "Is she a death eater too?" Crabbe asks looking at Danielle with confusion. "I thought she hated you."

"I'm surprised you two haven't run off to save your own skins yet," Draco says, trying to sound like his old arrogant self. Danielle could hear the fear in his voice though, and see it in his eyes. He wasn't the same person he was a year ago. The time away from school, and experiences with the death eaters had forced him to change.

"We thought you should know that Harry Potter is here," Goyle says with a shrug.

"Obviously," Draco frowns. These idiots were wasting his time.

"He's looking for something," Crabbe mumbles, "he's searching for something that is hidden in the school. We heard McGonagall say that."

"Oh?" Draco looked interested in what the two had to say now. Danielle wondered what Harry could be looking for this time.

"Yeah and we know which way he went too!" Goyle adds enthusiastically when he noticed that Draco was pleased with what they had found out.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Draco sneers, "Show me the way!"

"Ok!" Crabbe and Goyle say together before heading towards the main staircase that led to the upper floors. Draco took this moment to speak to Danielle one last time.

"It's a good thing I found them first," He tells her, "Or else they would have told someone else where Harry was."

"That wouldn't have been good," Danielle agrees then pauses a moment, not really noticing that Draco had called Harry by his first name. "I'm going to go find Tracy and the others now."

Draco reaches forward and pulls her into another hug. "Please, don't die," He says seriously.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," She teases; earning a small smile from Draco. "I'll see you later, yeah?" She asks. Draco surprises her then by leaning in and kissing her quickly on the cheek before nodding, turning around, and following Crabbe and Goyle away from the battle that Danielle was about to join outside.

* * *

Tracy had long given up shouting spells and was now just flicking her wand around like mad to shoot off both offensive and defensive spells. They were outnumbered though, that much she was sure of. It seemed that every time she knocked out a death eater, three more would pop up in their place. She tried not to let it overwhelm her because a lot of these death eaters had no experience fighting. Most of them were just cowards, fighting for Voldemort out of fear for the man. Tracy knew that there were more experienced duelers among the death eater ranks though, so she had to stay vigilant. The dangerous ones were out there somewhere, and it was only a matter of time before she'd have to put her battle skills to the ultimate test.

"I'll never stop being in awe of your quick wand work!" Neville calls to Tracy suddenly after appearing at her side. He had a huge gash behind his left ear that was bleeding terribly but he still had a look of deep concentration as he continued to throw his own hexes out at the death eaters.

"I think some of the death eaters got into the school," Tracy responds while disarming a short death eater and blasting him back into a nearby pillar. She quickly knelt down to grab his wand and stuff it into her robes so that nobody else could use it. "There were too many of them to hold back."

"It's ok," Neville grunts as he dives away from the blast of green light that would have ended his life. "Mcgonagall has some of the order stationed inside."

"Good," Tracy says. That was the end of her and Neville's conversation because in that moment they both split ways. Neville went farther off onto the school's grounds where Luna was battling several death eaters at once while Tracy went closer to the castle's entrance to where she saw the Weasley twin's having some fun of their own.

"Aha!" Fred grinned when Tracy came into his view. He was crouched behind a pile of rubble that used to be some sort of statue.

"There's our favorite spell master!" George echoed from his brother's side. Fred then quickly turns around and blasts a death eater that had tried to sneak up behind them as he came out of the school.

"And what do you know!" He says, "Its little Abby all grown up! Shall I assume I'm in the presence of the future Mrs. Malfoy?" Tracy stunned the death eater she had been fighting so that she could turn around. Fred was right! Danielle was coming out of the castle with her wand drawn.

"Danielle!" She waves her friend over; blocking curses and hexes at the same time.

"Tracy!" Danielle was relieved to see a familiar face; especially the one belonging to her best friend.

"I didn't know if you'd show up or not," Tracy lets out a growl as she flings a jinx off at a death eater who'd just tried to kill her. "I wasn't sure if the Malfoys would let you come."

"Future husband got you on a short leash?" George teases as he rolls out from behind the pile of rubble to stun a hooded figure trying to sneak up on professor Flitwick.

"Future husband actually helped sneak me out of the manor so that I could be here," Danielle grits her teeth as she uses a shield charm to block a series of orange blasts coming straight for her.

"Who would have guessed Georgie?" Fred grins at his brother, "Malfoy's gone soft."

"Watch it!" Tracy shouts out to Luna who whips around just in time to deflect a killing curse. The girl turns and waves at all of them as a thank you before running back off into the battle. Danielle was surprised to see Luna back on her feet so soon after being held prisoner at the manor.

"Where is your hubtown anyway?" Tracy asks her friend as they start moving away from the school entrance to go deeper into the fight.

"Looking for yours," Danielle answers before ducking to avoid some more of those orange blasts. "He wants his wand back."

"Oh my gosh…" Tracy falters as she looks up and notices something in the forbidden forest.

"No way," Danielle couldn't believe it. From out of the trees emerged about a dozen giants wielding huge axes and clubs. They were huge; Danielle knew she'd be lucky if she came up to their ankles. "I've never seen a Giant before."

"Me either," Tracy admits, "Too bad they're not on our side." The two girls could already see the spells of their allies bouncing off the giant's bodies; causing no damage to them at all. And if that wasn't enough to put a damper on their confidence, an army of car sized spiders began scuttling out of the forest as well. They were faster than the giants, and were almost to the school already.

"Acromantulas?" Danielle begins to back up instinctively. Giants and bugs were quite the terrifying combo.

"Harry and Ron fought them the year the chamber of secrets opened," Tracy frowns in disgust. She didn't like spiders.

"Did they happen to tell you how to kill them?" Danielle attempts a joke but the situation is too real to be comical.

"Actually yes," Tracy laughs nervously as she points her wand at an oncoming spider, "Arania Exumai!" The spider is instantly blasted back and knocks out a few death eaters in the process.

"Nice!" Danielle says admiring both her friend's knowledge and execution of the spell. She was growing more afraid by the second though. She wasn't just dealing with death eaters anymore. There were also spiders five times her size, and Giants that only need step on her to end her life.

"WATCH OUT!" Tracy shouts over towards Seamus who quickly dodges one of the giant's swinging axes that would have taken off both his legs.

"Thanks!" He responds before disappearing back into the battle. Tracy frowns and narrows her eyes at the Giant; trying to work out a way to take it down. She finally nods her head and flicks her wand at its legs, "incarcerous!" A set of chains flies out and warp about the beasts feet; causing it to trip and come crashing down onto its belly with a ground shaking boom. She then sends some more bindings around the things arms so that it couldn't get back up.

"Well done!" Mr. Weasley calls over, and Tracy gives him a thumbs up.

"Arania Exumai!" Danielle points her wand to blast an oncoming spider before sending off a stunning spell at a death eater. "Stupefy!" She then turns around and collides with someone. She looks up into the snarling hairy face of Fenrir Greyback. Her mind instantly freezes in terror.

"Why hello there," He grins viciously, "You have no idea how pleased I am to see you." He grabs onto her arm tightly. His long pointy nails dug into her flesh; causing her brain to kick start again.

"The feeling isn't mutual!" She growls and starts to kick at the werewolf to try and get him to let her go. This guy wanted more than just to kill her, she knew. He wanted to do horrible things. Danielle didn't want him touching her at all, and she certainly wasn't about to let him bite her and infect her with lycanthropy; the werewolf disease.

"DANIELLE!" Tracy shouts to her friend in fear once she notices her predicament "Hold on! I'm coming!" She turns to run over but is blocked by four tall hooded men.

"You're not helping your little traitor friend," one of them sneers down at her. Tracy wasn't sure who they were because of their masks, but she didn't particularly care either way. They were standing between her and her best friend so they needed to be dealt with.

"Wanna bet?" Tracy snaps and shoves her wand in their faces.

"Wrong move girl," One of them snarls before blasting Tracy back onto the ground. She quickly shoves herself back up though while putting up a shield charm to block several curses they'd just sent at her. Once she had her bearings she launches into battle with the four death eaters. They were better than the others she'd fought so far though. These were the death eaters she'd been worried about before.

"Let me go Greyback you twisted mutt!" Danielle growls as she tries to wiggle free from the man's grasp. Her taunts only made the death eater angrier though.

"Not so tough now, are you sweetheart?" Greyback smiles down at her with his rotting teeth. Anger courses through Danielle then, and she kicks him in the shin getting his grip to loosen for a moment so that she could rip her arm free.

"Stupefy!" Danielle shouts and flings a spell at the werewolf; one that he easily defects. "Expelliarmus!" She shouts but once again her efforts had no effect. Greyback slashes his wand at her then. Danielle uses another defensive charm to block the hex. The force of it still knocked her off her feet though. Greyback took advantage of her vulnerable position on the ground and stalked up to her, sending another curse right at her face. Danielle slashes her wand up to blast it back. She kept her wand up but continued to scoot backwards with her other hand and her feet to try and escape Greyback's predatory grin.

"So, you aren't totally useless after all." He hums before licking his lips. Danielle lets out a growl and starts showering the death eater with every spell in her arsenal while managing to also stand back up. He blocked all her attacks though; while still sending hexes at her at the same time.

"Petrificus totalus! Stupefy! Confringo! Locomotor Mortis!" Danielle spits out anything she can think of. She was starting to panic. Greyback was much stronger than her. She hadn't expected him to be so good at dueling since she'd heard that he relied mostly on his werewolf brutality in battle. Her voice grew more frantic as he got closer to her, "Expelliarmus! Flipendo! Levicorpus! Impedimenta! AVADA KADAVRA!" The last one comes out as a yelp since Greyback had just lunged forward at her. A green blast erupts from her wand and collides directly with his chest. His eyes widen in shock before his whole body goes limp and falls to the ground. Danielle's eyes widen too. Her stomach twists dangerously and she has to cover her mouth and look away. Tears sprung into her eyes and she doubled over in shock. His identity seized to matter for a moment as she wraps her mind around the fact that she'd just killed someone.

"Danielle!" Tracy shouts out to her friend but the girl was in a state of shock. She didn't even notice another death eater come up behind her and grab her until it was too late. Tracy was still trying to fight off the four death eaters from before so she couldn't come to the rescue.

"Stop!" Danielle begins squirming now to get out of the death eater's grip, "LET ME GO!" Her struggle was useless though since her hands were still shaking violently after the encounter with Greyback. The man holding her easily reached over and snatched her wand right out of her hands.

* * *

**I hope the battle scene is realistic enough. I'm wondering how you all feel about Danielle and Greyback finally confronting each other? I didn't want Danielle to have a badass victory over him because to me that wouldn't be right. Now we have to find out who took her though :(**


	69. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Seven

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Seven

"Danielle!" Tracy shouts again. She'd managed to stun one of the four death eaters that were trying to block her, but the remaining three still had a lot of fight left in them. She began to freak out when she saw Danielle being dragged away. "SOMEONE STOP HIM!" Tracy shouts in annoyance. If she couldn't stop that man from taking Danielle, surely SOMEONE else would. The battle was loud though; and hectic.

"FRED! GEORGE!" She continued to shout as she flings hexes and curses all around her. In her rage, Tracy stopped being so forgiving with these guys. She flung her wand in one of the death eater's directions and a green light flung out and hit him in the side. He fell to the ground; dead. "SEAMUS? NEVILLE?"

"Tracy?" Tracy turned to see Lupin. In one wave of his wand the rest of the death eaters surrounding her blasted back.

"Remus! Thank god! I'm so glad to see you! A death eater just ran off with Danielle!" Tracy says, trying to fight off her hysteria, "I didn't see where they went. All these guys came around me right at that moment! I couldn't stop him!"

"Ok, calm down!" Lupin says as he casts a spell over at one of the Giant's axes, causing the weapon to attack its own owner. "We'll just have to ask around to see if anyone saw where they went."

Tracy and Lupin made their way through the grounds; battling spiders, giants, and death eaters. They asked everyone they encountered if they'd seen Danielle, but no one had. Finally they decided to check inside the school.

"Fred! George! Did you see anyone taking Danielle inside?" Tracy asks the twin read heads, who were still manning their station near Hogwarts' front doors.

"No," George frowns, "but that doesn't mean much. We've been pretty busy. Anyone could have snuck by without us noticing."

"You think someone got her?" Fred asks looking concerned.

"I saw them grab her," Tracy mumbles sadly.

"That's bad," George sighs.

"If you need to get into the castle," Fred tells them, "We'll cover you."

Lupin nods before grabbing Tracy and running towards the school's entrance. Fred and George blasted death eaters as they went. By the blank stares in their victim's eyes, Tracy could tell that the twins had stopped fooling around with stunning spells as well. It was kill or be killed now. When they got into the school, Tracy noticed other members of the order fighting. She recognized Kingsley, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill right away.

"Kingsley! Which way have the death eaters been heading?" Lupin shouts over to his friend. The man only points as he battles with a death eater Tracy was pretty sure she recognized from the daily prophet. Lupin grabbed her arm and pulled her up the main stair case, following the directions he'd just received from Kingsley. The halls become increasingly deserted as they climbed. Everyone was outside in the battle. They'd just reached the sixth floor when a death eater blocked their path.

"Ah, Remus Lupin…" It was Lucius Malfoy. Tracy was startled by his appearance. The last time she'd seen him he'd look healthy, confident, and clean. Now he just looked worn down and broken. What had happened to him? Tracy wondered if he had anything to do with Danielle's kidnapping, or perhaps knew where she was. "And look," Lucius continued, "Potter's little girlfriend."

"Run," Lupin whispers over to Tracy who looks back at him in shock. She didn't want to leave her friend alone, but she could tell that the older man was not asking. He was giving her an order. She took a deep breath before nodding in understanding. She chances one last glance at Lucius and then sprints off toward the nearest staircase.

"Where is she going?" she hears Lucius shout. "She knows where Potter is, doesn't she?" A hex flies over Tracy's shoulder but she keeps running. She knew Lupin would be able to hold the elder Malfoy off while she continued her search for Danielle. She just hoped she wouldn't run into any other death eaters on the way. When she reached the top of the stairs on the seventh floor and whipped around the corner though, she literally did run into one. She collided right into the cloaked figure and fell back hard onto the floor. Whoever she had hit fell down too with a thud. She quickly spins around on her knees and aims her wand; ready to take the person out.

"Malfoy?" She gasps. She watches as the blonde recovers from a coughing fit before turning to look at her. He held his wand up weakly but dropped his hand back down when he noticed who he'd run into. If Lucius' appearance was shocking, Tracy didn't know what to say about Draco. He smelled like smoke, his clothes had holes that were clearly burned in, and he had soot all over him. He had ugly red burns on his hands and face as well. He looked ready to burst into tears. Tracy had never seen someone look so pitiful.

"Ross…" He coughed before brushing some of the black ash from his hair. That's when Tracy saw the second figure come around the corner. She was still on the floor but she aimed her wand up at the person anyway.

"Malfoy… what do we do about Crabbe?" Tracy recognized the person as Goyle; one of the two Slytherin boys that had followed Draco around like lapdogs the first year she'd attended Hogwarts. When he finally noticed that there was a wand aimed at him, he quickly pulled out his own as well. Tracy rolled her eyes.

"GET OUT OF HERE GOYLE!" Draco suddenly snaps. Tracy could hear the raw emotion coming through his voice and it shocked her. It was strange for her to see him this way. "Go tell someone about Potter while I finish this one off!"

"Uh… ok!" Goyle says and stumbles away looking confused.

"Malfoy…" Tracy turned her wand back toward the boy on the floor next to her again. She wasn't sure if she could trust him completely; especially after having just said something about finishing her off.

"Point that thing somewhere else," Draco growls, sounding annoyed as he pushes himself off the ground with great effort. He reaches his hand down to help Tracy up too once he was on his feet. She gives him her hand and he pulls her up. He winces while he does it though.

"What happened to you?" Tracy asks him after a moment.

"Your freaking boyfriend just saved my life!" He grits his teeth, trying to keep the emotion off his face but failing miserably. Tracy just stared back at him in complete bewilderment. This was not the Draco Malfoy she was used to and it was freaking her out a little bit. "And before you ask, boy wonder is fine; same with Weasley, and the mud… and Granger." Draco pauses again to try and desperately wipe more soot off his robes, "Don't ask me where they are now though… I don't know."

Tracy was glad to know that Harry and the others were okay wherever they were. She appreciated Draco's thoughtfulness in giving her the information as well. It was surprising to hear that Harry had saved Draco's life from something though. This whole night was surprising. What she really wanted to know though, was why Draco seemed on the brink of insanity. The Draco Malfoy she knew was distant and cruel. The only emotions he'd ever displayed were anger and amusement at other people's expense. The Draco Malfoy she knew never lost his composure, and he certainly never cried. The boy in front of Tracy now though was completely unstable; she was worried what his reaction would be to what she was about to tell him.

"Draco…" She says hesitantly.

"WHAT?!" He shouts, "What do you want?!" He was on the verge of a complete meltdown.

"It's Danielle…" She whispers and she watches Draco's face fall, "Someone took her. A death eater; I don't know who though."

"Oh god," Draco says and leans onto the stone wall for support.

"I don't know where they went," Tracy says quickly, "we thought maybe they had taken her somewhere in the school."

"I told her not to fight!" Draco slams his fist on the stone wall and shuts his eyes. There it was, Tracy thinks, there is the anger. She remembered Danielle explaining to her before that Draco used anger to cover up his true feelings. And judging by this reaction, he was very upset about his betrothed being captured by a death eater in the middle of battle.

"It's not too late!" Tracy says to him, "We can find her; me and you!"

"You don't know anything!" Draco snarls and Tracy fights the urge to step away from him. Yes, he was VERY upset.

"Danielle would try to find you if the situation was reversed," Tracy stands her ground, "You know she would!"

"I'm not doing anything with you!" Draco shouts, "If you want to go get yourself killed, be my guest. Not me though! No way! Danielle brought this upon herself! I told her not to fight, but she didn't listen!"

"Will you stop being a Slytherin for two seconds?" Tracy snaps in irritation, "There must be something you know or something you could do to help her. We're talking about Danielle's life here! If we don't find her they could kill her; and then what? You'll never be able to see her, talk to her, or argue with her again! She is your freaking fiancée for crying out loud! I seem to recall you saying once that no other guy was allowed to touch her while your ring was on her finger. What happened to that, huh?"

"The ring…" Draco's eyes widen as an idea pops into his head. Tracy suddenly remembers something too. Hermione had suspected all along that the Malfoy's might be able to track down Danielle with the engagement ring. Maybe she had been right.

"Can you find her with the ring?" Tracy asks eagerly. Draco looks over at Tracy with a look of irritation but doesn't respond. He turns around and presses his forehead to the wall with his eyes closed. Tracy felt that maybe Draco really had lost his mind now, "What are you doing?"

"SHUT UP FOR A MINUTE!" He shouts without moving from his pose. After a few seconds he mumbles, "What was that damn spell?"

"Are you ok?" Tracy asks hesitantly before hearing a scream from the floor below them. The sound seemed to trigger Draco into action.

"I can't be seen with you," He spins around to look at Tracy who feels offended by words.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" She puts her hands on her hips.

"Just go, Ross," Draco growls and finally pulls out his mother's wand.

"You're a real jerk, you know that?" Tracy narrows her eyes and brings her wand up; ready to fight.

"Get away from me," Draco steps toward Tracy then and shoves her away from him. She stumbles back, almost falling down. It pissed her off.

"Draco? Son? Is that you?" Tracy gasps as she realizes why Draco was trying to get her away now. His father was coming up the stairs. He was trying to protect her. She gives the blonde an apologetic look before turning and looking for somewhere to hide. She sees a suit of armor on the wall nearby and runs over to it. She had just tucked herself out of site when Lucius appeared at the top of the stairs. "What are you doing up here boy?"

"Looking for Potter, what else?" Draco sneered in disgust as he said Harry's name. Tracy couldn't believe the transformation in Draco between what he had been like a few minutes ago and now. No trace of emotion could be seen on his face, except annoyance. He sounded confident and mean. He was back to the prejudice bully she had met when she first came to Hogwarts.

"I told you not to go wandering off by yourself," Lucius tells his son before smirking, "You'll be happy to know I finally finished off the wretched werewolf. He was trying to help that Ross girl get away. You didn't see her come by did you?" Tracy lifts her hands to her mouth to hold back her shocked gasp. Remus was dead… no, that wasn't possible.

"I'm not a child anymore, father" Draco narrows his eyes as he straightens out his robes. He seemed unaffected by the news of his former defense against the dark arts teacher's death. "I took care of the girl that ran up here. Don't worry about it." Tracy would have been shocked and proud to know Draco was standing up for her, but she was too busy trying not to burst into tears at the thought of Lupin being gone. She felt a bit guilty because the man wouldn't have even been fighting inside the school if it weren't for her. He had died trying to help her save Danielle.

"What on earth happened to you?" Lucius gasps when he finally notices the burns in his son's death eater robes and the wounds on his skin.

"Don't worry about it," Draco snaps, "there is a more pressing matter. I have reason to believe that one of our ranks ran off with Emmings while everyone else was distracted by the battle."

"This is not the time to be worrying about such petty matters," Lucius says irritably, "it's the dark lord's concerns we should be dealing with now, not our own."

Draco once again contorts his face in distaste, "It was the Dark Lord I was thinking of, father. He specifically gave us orders to find Potter, yet someone apparently thought it was alright to snatch up my fiancée and bring her here to do god knows what with her."

Draco's lying was so flawless that he even had Tracy confused for a moment. From what he'd just said, it sounded like Draco cared nothing for Danielle's well being. It sounded as if his only concern was with his loyalty to Voldemort. Tracy reminded herself that if that were true, Draco would have killed her immediately after running into her. He wouldn't have lied to his father, and he wouldn't have made sure to tell her about Harry being safe before.

"Ah! Yes! Very good, Draco! We'll just go tell the dark lord what we know, and he'll reward us for looking out for his best interests" Lucius says hopefully. Tracy grits her teeth as she listens to this pathetic man speak. It made her furious that Lupin had been killed by such a cowardly fool.

"No, he'll want to know who the traitor is," Draco lifts his chin confidently. "We need to learn the person's identity first before we go to the dark lord. That way he'll know who to punish."

"And how do you suppose we find this person?" Lucius frowns and starts to look impatient. "We can't waste time looking for this traitor when we're meant to be looking for Potter. If we abandon our search, we'll be disobeying the dark lord as well."

"Danielle's engagement ring," Draco mentions quietly, "I seem to recall that there are a variety of components to the ring that might be helpful to us. There must be some sort of tracking spell on it!"

Tracy couldn't help but smile at Draco's genius. She was starting to appreciate and respect the boy's Slytherin traits. She knew she wouldn't be able to accomplish her own agenda while also fooling everyone around her into believing she was on their side.

"Very clever my son," Lucius beams proudly then, "let's go back to your mother and then we'll perform the spell."

"No," Draco states boldly, "just tell me the spell. I'll find them myself. You can go back to mother."

"What? Why?" Lucius says cautiously.

"It doesn't make sense for both of us to go," Draco folds his arms. "You just keep looking for Potter. All I need to do is get a glimpse of the traitor and I'll get back to my duty as well."

"I guess that does seem more efficient," Lucius replies after a moment. "But as soon as you find them come back to our meeting place in the woods. That is where your mother is waiting. She's worried about you."

"Tell her that I'm fine and I'll be back with you guys soon," was the reply, "we're wasting time just sitting here. Now tell me the spell."

* * *

**We're getting close to the end of part two now guys! I hope you're all excited for the end of the final battle. **


	70. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Eight

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Eight

Danielle let out a cry of pain as she's slammed against the wall of an empty classroom. She felt like a fool for being captured. Why had killing Greyback affected her so strongly? Hadn't she been waiting to accomplish that end since the moment the werewolf had laid eyes on her anyway? Hadn't she promised the man that she'd send him to his grave? It wasn't as if she felt guilty or anything. The world was a better place without a monster like that. It was just a shock to learn that she had it in her to take someone's life; that she had the ability to exercise that sort of power if she needed to. It scared her a little bit, how easy it had been. It gave Danielle a better appreciation of her own precious life. Two short words and she could be gone forever as well. That fact made her even more aware of how dangerous a situation she was in at the moment. She was trapped in a small room with a death eater, far away from all of her friends, and with no wand. She had never felt so vulnerable. The man who had her up against the wall finally lifted up his mask. Danielle let out a groan. It was Mr. Nott.

"Tell me Ms. Emmings, does our Draco know that his intended has escaped the manor to fight against his own allies?" the man asks evilly. Danielle wasn't sure what to say. She only continued to thrash about, hoping that she might be able to escape his grasp.

"I told you I was keeping an eye on you." Danielle twisted her head around to look over to where the voice had come from. She hadn't noticed that there were two other people in the room. It was her captor's son, Theo, and … Pansy Parkinson… well that was a surprise.

"You've gone too far this time Emmings!" Pansy pouts, "I knew you were plotting against Draco! He obviously knew it too or he wouldn't have told Theo to keep tabs on you."

"Plot against him? I haven't done anything to him!" Danielle growls as she tries to kick Mr. Nott's shin. This was now bordering on embarrassing. Being killed for trying to defeat the death eaters was one thing, but dying because of Pansy's refusal to accept that she wasn't going to be the one to marry Draco was another.

"You were throwing hexes at our own guys!" Mr. Nott bellows as he tightens his grip around her arms. "One of them could have been your fiancé!"

"Well, if Draco feels like I've done something wrong than let him be the one to tell me," Danielle says bravely. She tries again to tear herself out of the death eater's hands but it's useless.

"This isn't just about Draco!" Mr. Nott scowls, "You aren't just betraying him; you're betraying your lord!"

"_MY _lord?" Danielle laughs in disgust, "You're the one disobeying your precious hypocrite! I heard what he said. You're meant to find Harry Potter. Instead, you're wasting time questioning me. I really doubt if the freaking dark lord cares if Draco Malfoy's fiancée is a turncoat or not."

"Well I think he'll care if Draco marries a blood traitor once this is all over," Pansy puts her hands on her hips. Danielle looks over at the girl again in disbelief.

"Pansy," Danielle shakes her head in disappointment, "Stop acting as if you care about the outcome of this war. All you want is to take my place and become the next Mrs. Malfoy! In fact, I doubt that any of you will shed a single tear once Voldemort is dead." Pansy and Theo flinch at her use of the dark lord's name. Danielle felt a sense of satisfaction from their reactions. She didn't usually use Voldemort's name, but she figured it didn't matter now since she didn't have much to lose at this point.

"ONCE HE'S DEAD!?" Mr. Nott growls and pushes Danielle harder against the rough stone, "Is that what you think is going to happen?" Danielle groans in pain but manages to nod her head which only makes the evil man in front of her more upset.

"Theo, what are you doing in here man?" a voice comes from the door and they all turn around. Danielle's eyes widen in shock to see Blaise Zabini. "Pansy?" Blaise frowns, "You too? You guys know McGonagall is letting us all out through a secret passage on the seventh floor right?" The Slytherin boy's gaze then finally lands on Danielle. She saw a flicker of concern on his face when he notices her situation.

"Mr. Nott, sir, you do know that the girl that you're currently abusing is Draco Malfoy's fiancée right?" Blaise asks, keeping his voice neutral.

"Of course we know that!" Theo says as he walks over to his fellow Slytherin, "Why do you think we're holding her here instead of killing her off? My father found her fighting with those stupid kids from Dumbledore's Army or whatever it is."

"That's not your problem, is it?" Blaise crosses his arms, "It's the Malfoy's."

"It's the dark lord's problem if she's taking out death eaters," Theo frowns at his friend.

"Last time I checked Theo, you didn't have a dark mark on your arm" Blaise lifts an eyebrow, "So I fail to see why you're taking responsibility for the dark lord's problems when you don't have to. Let someone else handle it."

"Draco specifically told us to make sure this dumb blood traitor didn't do anything stupid," Theo says while narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"I think you may have misunderstood him," Blaise says simply.

"Are you implying that young Mr. Malfoy wanted you two to protect his bride to be even if she were to openly flaunt her disloyalty to him?" Mr. Nott glares at his son's friend maliciously. His attention on Blaise did not cause his grip on Danielle to loosen at all, even though she kept trying to shake free every few moments still. She wanted to get out of here before Theo and his father got angry at Blaise. She didn't want to drag him into this.

"Think about it Theo," Blaise ignores the older man and looks at his Slytherin comrade, "if he really just needed someone to keep tabs on Emmings he would have had those goons Crabbe and Goyle do it. He's never asked us to do anything before. That's how I know he was serious when he told us to keep an eye out for her. He doesn't want anything happening to her, man. He wanted us to keep her safe. So, since we have no obligations to the dark lord, and have known Draco most our lives; I really think we should just let this go." Danielle felt an overwhelming respect for Blaise after his speech. She could hardly believe he was standing up for her. He was doing it in a very Slytherin like manner, but he was still doing it.

"You and my son may not have obligations to the dark lord" Mr. Nott spits, "But I do. It's my duty to destroy anyone who poses as a threat to him." In his anger, the death eater gripped Danielle's arms even tighter. It was starting to get really uncomfortable. Her arms were definitely going to be bruised from the strength he was using to hold her in place

"Then you should probably be going after the senior members of that order of the phoenix," Blaise raises an eyebrow at the death eater, "Not some unpracticed 17 year old girl." Danielle was not offended by the somewhat demeaning description of herself. She knew that Blaise wasn't trying to be mean; he was just trying to get Mr. Nott to see how ridiculous this whole thing was. She wondered why he was trying so hard to protect her though. He wasn't doing himself any favors by getting on the bad side of a death eater. She was distracted from her thoughts then by a fiery pain in her left hand. It was so sharp and intense that she actually yelled out.

"OWWW!" She shouts as she kicks out at Mr. Nott again. She manages to get him in the stomach that time and he dropped her. She landed with a thud on her bottom but that didn't bother her. She quickly started massaging her hand which was still burning like mad. "What are you doing to my hand?" She growls.

"I'm not doing anything you crazy wretch," Mr. Nott snaps as he rubs the spot where he'd just been kicked. Theo walks up to Danielle quickly and points his wand at her.

"Get that out of my face!" She growls, "I'm not going to try to get away. I know I wouldn't get anywhere. Your dad has my wand!" She continues to rub her hand as the throbbing pain continued. Mr. Nott aimed his wand at her now as well. He didn't want to risk being kicked again.

"Look Blaise, if you're going to keep crying about it why don't you just leave?" Pansy tells the boy as she ignores Danielle's growls of pain.

"Pansy, I know you're only doing this because you think you belong with Draco," Blaise says, "but if you really cared about him you wouldn't be doing this. Did you ever think that you might be hurting him by hurting her?" Blaise points to Danielle.

"He hates her!" Pansy shrieks as tears form in her eyes.

"No Pansy, he doesn't" Blaise states firmly.

"You're walking on thin ice Zabini!" Theo suddenly jumps back into the argument, "Who cares how Draco feels about her? Like that even matters! His parents aren't going to go through with the wedding once they know the truth about Emmings."

"I wish you'd stop being so stereotypical," Blaise's voice had taken a darker tone now and he narrowed his eyes. Danielle even felt a little freaked out. She'd never seen Blaise angry before and it was really intimidating. "Yeah, Slytherin's are known for putting their own interests before anybody else's, but that doesn't mean that our interests can't include anybody else. We protect what is ours, and the things that matter to us. And you know what matters to me, Theo? Enjoying life, being a leader and not a follower, and having the freedom to decide for myself what is right and wrong. And really, that's as Slytherin as you can get. I want power and influence over the world like any other pureblood Slytherin, but I know I'm not going to get it by bowing down at someone else's feet."

"Watch your mouth boy!" Mr. Nott growls. "The dark lord will reward everyone who serves him loyally. Once we win the war, my power and status in the new society with be undeniable." Blaise turned bravely to the death eater then.

"What you're describing is an illusion and you know it," he declares, "You were given all the power and status you would need to be important in the world the day you were sorted into Slytherin. But you gave it all up the moment you let that twisted lunatic put a brand on your arm. To him you're just a means to an end."

"Zabini, just give it up man" Theo tells his friend, "You don't even know what you're saying." Blaise turns to Theo then with a confident smirk.

"I know exactly what I'm saying," he says coolly, "But perhaps I need to be a little more clear… you're all a bunch of cowards." No sooner had the words left Blaise's mouth than he was on the floor.

"Wh… what?" Danielle looks over and sees Mr. Nott's wand pointed at the spot where Blaise had just been standing.

"I think that'll be enough from him," the man sneered.

"Dad…" Theo looked down at his friend in shock.

"You only stunned him right?" Pansy asks looking sick. "Why isn't he breathing?" Danielle felt her heart start to pound in her chest and her stomach start to roll with nausea as she stared over at Blaise's unseeing eyes, only a few feet from where she sat clutching her hand.

"Oh my god is he dead?!" Pansy shrieks.

"Finally caught on have you?" Mr. Nott rolled his eyes as he turned his wand back toward Danielle who was feeling dizzy with shock. Theo was still staring down at his friend. Danielle saw him desperately trying not to care; trying to tell himself that his father had done the right thing. Danielle actually felt bad for him; even after he turned and looked at her with complete loathing. He was probably wishing that it had been her that was dead instead of Blaise. Danielle sort of wished it was that way too. Blaise hadn't deserved to die. He hadn't done anything wrong. He had died trying to save her and now she felt the familiar waves of guilt over having another good person's life on her hands. First Dumbledore, and now this; it was almost too much for Danielle to handle. Her left hand was still throbbing in pain, but it was nothing compared to the anxiety attack that was threatening to overtake her. She wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball on the floor, hyperventilate, and cry her eyes out. She fought through it though. She had to keep it together. There would be plenty of time to fall to pieces after the danger had passed, but for now, she had to be strong. She couldn't let Blaise's death be in vain.

On the other side of the room, Pansy was in an even worse state than Danielle. The girl had sunk to her knees on the floor and had an endless stream of tears rolling down her face. She hadn't been prepared for what she had just witnessed. Danielle hadn't been all that prepared either, but she had known from the start that there would be death. Not that that made it any easier for her, but Pansy had been far more oblivious to the dangers of the war than Danielle had been. The Slytherin girl was used to only worrying about things that concerned herself. She had been raised to only look at the small matter that was her life, and do everything she could to make it perfect.

"You heartless monster!" Danielle finally finds strength to speak. "How could you?"

"Do you want to be next girl?" Mr. Nott jabs his wand right into Danielle's chest, "If not than I suggest you keep your mouth shut." That's when the door burst open again, and before Danielle could blink; her death eater captor was dead on the floor too. Her grieving mind struggled to keep up, but she managed to figure out that it was Draco and Tracy that had come in.

"Danielle…" Draco kneels down and forces her to look up at him. His eyes were wide with concern and he was breathing heavily. Had he run here? How had he found her? She didn't care right then, she realized. And suddenly she was wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shoulder; needing one of their increasingly frequent hugs. He held her back, and she was only vaguely aware that he was shaking and crying too.

Tracy looked away from the two, feeling strange about their embrace. She'd known Danielle for most of her life and had never known her to cry so openly or to accept comfort so readily. Tracy figured that most of the abnormal behavior could be attributed to the horrible effects of the war, but she also wondered if perhaps Danielle had developed a closeness with Draco that she'd never had before with anyone else. They would have to talk about it later, Tracy decided. Right now they had to not think too hard about what was happening around them and try to push through until the end. As Tracy looked down at the two dead men in the room, she knew that it would be easier said than done. She bit back her own tears as she knelt down next to Blaise and closed his eyes. What a waste. He'd been a cheeky bugger, but he'd had a lot of potential. He had been ambitious, like most Slytherins were, except he hadn't had any qualms about working hard to meet his goals. Tracy had respected him for that, and she was extremely sorry to see such a capable person taken out of the world too soon.

"What the heck, Ross!" Theo shouts at Tracy ferociously, "You killed my dad! I'll get you for that! I'll kill you!" Tracy stood up and looked over at the boy irritably. She knew his threats were empty. He couldn't do anything to her, since the first thing she'd done when she'd gotten into the room was disarm and restrain both him and Pansy. She hadn't been the one to cast the killing curse on Mr. Nott though. That had been Draco. She'd let Theo believe that it was her however, because if anyone found out that Draco had killed another death eater he'd be in serious trouble.

"Your girl's a traitor Draco!" Theo shouts as he struggles against the ropes holding him down, "She was fighting for the order! My father saw her! She killed Greyback!" Draco finally pulled away from Danielle to look at her face. She looked down and nodded to indicate that Theo was telling the truth. He let out a sigh then and stood back up. He didn't have the energy to deal with his fellow Slytherin at the moment. Instead he finally looked over and acknowledged Blaise.

"Draco! I never wanted this to happen!" Pansy was still crying hysterically, "Theo's dad just killed him! We couldn't stop it!"

"It's okay Pansy," Draco says sounding exasperated, "I don't blame you; just calm down."

"Ok" She says even though she instantly breaks down crying again. Everything she said after that only came out in undistinguishable sobs. Tracy frowns sadly at the poor girl before making her way over to Danielle who was still sitting on the floor with her knees pulled into her chest.

"Need help standing up?" Tracy asks and Danielle shakes her head. She didn't want to look anymore pitiful than she already did. She wiped the tears from her eyes roughly, took one more shaky breath, and then pushed herself off the ground.

"Sorry I'm all…" Danielle's voice trails off as she gestures to herself. Tracy rolls her eyes before reaching down and taking Danielle's wand out of Mr. Nott's robes.

"Don't even worry about it," she tells her friend, "You aren't hurt are you?"

"No," Danielle confesses as she takes her wand back, "not really. My hand was hurting really bad a few moments ago, but it stopped when you guys came in."

"That was the tracking spell on your engagement ring working," Draco looks over at her, "I'm sorry it hurt you." Danielle just shrugs.

"It's okay," She says, "I guess that's how you found me here then." Both Draco and Tracy nod their heads.

"Didn't you hear what I said, Draco?" Theo looks up at the boy furiously, "Emmings is a traitor! She was fighting for the order! You should be tying her up and taking her wand! Same with Ross! She killed my dad!"

Draco ignored Theo's ranting. He just looked over at poor Pansy before addressing Tracy, "We need to get her out of here."

"I can take her to the room of requirement," Tracy suggests, "all the other students were getting out through there."

"Not anymore," Draco squeezes his eyes shut, "I went in there to look for Harry, but then Crabbe destroyed it with the fiend fire curse."

"Fiend fire?!" Danielle croaks out looking horrified. She'd heard of that spell before. It created a raging fire that could not be stopped or controlled. The cursed flames were able to develop minds of their own and would continue to spread until every living thing in its path was dead. "No! My sister was in there!"

"Don't worry," Draco tells her, "I saw Potter kick your sister and the Weasley girl out before he went in." Danielle felt relieved for only a second until she realized that now her sister and Ginny were somewhere in the school where the battle was still taking place.

"So that's what happened to you earlier," Tracy finally puts the clues together, "That's why you're all burnt up. But I didn't see Crabbe with you; just Goyle."

"Crabbe didn't make it out," Draco says and looks down.

"Oh Draco! Please don't tell me he's dead," Pansy sobs, "not him too!"

"I'm sorry Pansy, but its tr…AH!" Draco lets out a yelp and clutches his forearm. Tracy looks at him like he's crazy but Danielle understands instantly.

"You're being summoned?" she asks him. That was when Voldemort's voice echoed loudly throughout the building. It sounded loud and clear, as if he was there in the room with them. It sent chills up Danielle's spine.

"YOU HAVE ALL FOUGHT VALIANTLY!" He hisses, "WHICH IS WHY I HAVE JUST ORDERED MY DEATH EATERS TO RETREAT. TAKE THIS TIME TO GATHER UP YOUR DEAD AND TREAT YOUR WOUNDED! NO MORE NEED SUFFER! I SPEAK NOW DIRECTLY TO YOU, HARRY POTTER! YOU HAVE ALLOWED YOUR FRIENDS TO FIGHT AND DIE FOR YOU. THIS IS A GREAT DISHONOR. I WILL GIVE YOU ONE MORE HOUR TO GIVE YOURSELF UP TO ME. IF YOU HAVEN'T SHOWN UP IN THAT TIME THE BATTLE WILL CONTINUE. AND IT WILL NOT END UNTIL EVERYONE YOU LOVE AND CARE FOR ARE DEAD."

"Oh no, Harry!" Tracy balls up her fists in worry. "I hope he finds that horcrux soon."

"Horcrux!" Draco looks over to the girl in shock.

"Oops," Tracy freezes in panic. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Are you telling me the dark lord has horcruxes?" Draco was looking extremely alarmed.

"You know what horcruxes are?" Tracy asks worriedly.

"I grew up surrounded by dark magic, Ross. YES, I know what they are!" Draco tells her, "And if the dark lord has really made some, then we're all pretty much wasting our time with this whole war."

"Draco … shouldn't you go? You-know-who will be wondering why you haven't shown up yet!" Danielle didn't know what a horcrux was but she didn't want Voldemort flying in here and killing Draco because of them.

"Look at me," Draco throws his arms out as he answers Danielle. "I can't go back to him. I'm a mess. I can't risk having him search my brain and seeing everything I've done. He'd kill me."

"I can't believe you Draco!" Theo speaks up again, "abandoning your duty for a couple of blood traitors!"

"One of your best friends is dead and you don't even care!" Danielle suddenly turns to shout at the boy while gesturing to Blaise's body. "How is that for a blood traitor?" At her outburst Pansy began to cry again.

"Ginny just sent me a message on the DA coin," Tracy interrupts as she pulls the gold coin from her pocket, "Everyone is gathering in the great hall to regroup. Apparently that's where they're taking everyone who's… already gone too."

"You two go on," Draco tells Tracy and Danielle. "I need to figure out what to do with this mess." He gestures to the dead death eater, Blaise, Theo and Pansy.

"Draco…" Danielle says but he cuts her off.

"I can't go down there," He says, "I've got the mark on my arm. They won't want me around. You just go. You'll be alright there. You'll have the people from the order… and your friends from the DA."

"Stop being a wuss Malfoy!" Theo growls "Go tell the dark lord about whatever those horcrux things are! He'll reward you!"

"Stop trying to save your skin Nott, I know that's what you're doing." Draco frowns, "I'm fairly certain the dark lord knows what Potter is doing anyway. Why else would he send the death eaters here to stop him?"

"Are you sure you don't want us here to help you?" Tracy asks Draco and Danielle looks at her friend in surprise. She was just now realizing how odd it was that the two showed up to save her together. Tracy must really trust Draco now.

"I'll be fine," Draco sighs, "Go find your precious scar head. I'm sure he's more important right now than me." This comment earns him a small smile from Tracy.

"I wish we could take Blaise down too," Danielle bites back her sadness. "He shouldn't just stay out like the death eaters. He deserves more…"

"I'll take care of it," Draco tells her seriously.

"Thank you," Danielle nods. "And thank you for saving me too."

"Anytime," was the reply.

"We'll see you later," Danielle says before leaving to go to the great hall with Tracy.

* * *

**I won't lie to you guys... writing Blaise's death was extremely hard for me. How was reading about it for you guys? Not many of you have said much about his character but I was personally really emotionally invested in him because I wanted him to be the Slytherin that was still a Slytherin even though he didn't act cruel and hateful. This part was also extremely hard to write for me because of how broken I had to make both Danielle and Draco. Both are very strong characters who do everything they can not to appear weak. The war has been wearing on both of them though for a long time and I think the final battle, watching close friends die, and having to take another person's life really pushed them over the edge. I also think it's important that they were both able to find comfort in each other. I'd really like to hear your guys' thoughts and feelings about this chapter. Pleaseeeee haha**


	71. Part Two: Chapter Thirty Nine

Part Two: Chapter Thirty Nine

"Are you sure that you're alright?" Tracy asks her friend as they head back downstairs. They had just passed the spot where Tracy had left Lupin before, but apparently his body had already been moved. Tracy was thankful for that. "I've never seen you… so… upset."

"I'm fine," Danielle says, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that. I was just overwhelmed for a second. After being taken and seeing what happened to Blaise… it was just too much. I feel better now, still sad, of course, but I'm composed."

"Well don't feel bad for having to take a moment. It's understandable. I mean, I can't believe what happened to Blaise either. I've seen a lot of death over the past couple hours, but this is the most shocking." Tracy frowns before looking over at Danielle.

"He was defending me, you know?" She replies with a strained voice, "He was trying to get Theo and his dad to let me go. I feel like this is my entire fault; just like Dumbledore."

"Don't blame yourself Danielle," Tracy tries to console her friend. "Blaise didn't have to stand up for you, but he did. It was his choice."

"He wasn't your average Slytherin, that's for sure" Danielle gives her friend a small smile.

"He helped the DA out a few times too after you went back to the manor to be with Draco," Tracy informs Danielle who looks shocked by this news. "He was always showing up randomly; distracting Snape and the Carrows so that we could get back to the room of requirement unharmed."

"That's crazy," Danielle shakes her head before remembering her question from before. "How did you and Draco end up working together to save me, by the way?"

"I ran into him on my way to find you. He was just coming out of the room of requirement I guess. Poor guy was a wreck, but he managed to pull it together when I told him what had happened to you," Tracy raises an eyebrow at her friend. "I still can't believe Hermione was right about the ring; good thing she was though."

"Yeah, definitely" Danielle nods before frowning. "I can't believe the room of requirement is destroyed though. Why on earth would Crabbe try to use a fiend fire curse? Even the most skilled and powerful people have trouble controlling the flames. It's a wonder anybody got away at all."

"Draco told me that he wouldn't have gotten out if Harry hadn't saved him," Tracy admits.

"Really?" Danielle widens her eyes in shock, "Harry saved Draco from the fire? I guess this war had made us all do surprising things. Although, Harry saving Draco isn't that crazy, is it? Leaving someone to burn alive is just cruel; and Harry had never been like that." Tracy nods her head with a little smile.

"What is a horcrux anyway?" Danielle asks hesitantly then. Tracy pauses for a moment to try and decide if it was okay to tell her friend about the horcruxes yet. She knew she could trust Danielle, and Voldemort already knew that Harry was after the things anyway; so it was probably fine.

"Long story short, Voldemort hid parts of his soul into objects so that if his body was ever destroyed he wouldn't die. It's why nobody's been able to kill him yet." Tracy explains, "But Harry has destroyed most of them already which means Voldemort will be able to die for real soon."

"Wow," Danielle had no idea what to say about that. She didn't like the thought of separating the soul into pieces, but of course Voldemort wouldn't care about doing something so unnatural to achieve immortality. "I guess that's why he was so upset about a cup before."

Tracy nods as they finally come up to the entrance of the great hall. They both stop walking in order to prepare themselves for what was inside. They could already see that the four long house tables had been pushed against the walls to make room for the rows and rows of bodies that were laid out. Students, teachers, and parents were circling the room, healing one another and mourning over the dead. Danielle suddenly remembered her sister. Hopefully Abby was inside; alive.

"Let's go," Danielle says to her friend and they walk in side by side. The first thing they both noticed was the group of red heads clumped together over in the corner. It was the Weasleys. They were all sobbing terribly and holding each other close.

"Oh my god," Tracy's eyes fill with tears. "Oh god, I think that's Fred." Danielle nods to her friend to tell her it was okay for them to part ways. Tracy nodded back thankfully and heads over to the large family. Danielle kept her distance but felt her own chest tighten with grief as well. She wasn't as close to the Weasleys as Tracy was, but she'd just met Fred for the first time just a little while ago today and he'd smiled at her and treated her warmly as if they'd been friends for years. It made Danielle sad to know he was gone, and that her friends were suffering because of it. She could see Mrs. Weasley crouched over the still form of her son. Danielle's heart wrenched at the pain on the mother's face. Tears burned in her eyes when she heard George howling in agony at the loss of his twin brother. She saw Ron put his arm around Tracy and pull her into him as she began to cry too.

"Danielle." Danielle tore her eyes away from the horrible scene, and felt a rush of relief to see her sister running up to her.

"Abby, oh my god, you're ok!" Danielle grabs the girl by the shoulders and begins to inspect her for damage, "I was so worried."

"I'm alright," Abby sniffs, bringing up a hand to rub the tears from her eyes. "Did you see what happened to Fred? He was my friend you know… he was fun, but now he's gone." Danielle pulls her sister in for a hug so that the younger girl wouldn't see the pain on her face. It was horrible that Abby had to put up with and see these monstrous things.

"Danielle! I didn't know you were here!" Hermione comes over now looking just as battle worn and teary eyed as everyone else, "I'm so glad to see you." Images of the brave Gryffindor contorting on the black tile of the Malfoy Manor drawing room suddenly filled Danielle's mind.

"Hermione!" Danielle chokes out, "At the manor… I'm so sorry. What Bellatrix did to you…" The bushy haired girl closes her eyes and waves her hand.

"It isn't your fault," She says, "You did everything you could to help. I was worried that they might be angry at you for trying to help us after we left."

"No," Danielle shakes her head, "Well, they were, but they didn't do anything.

"Oh! Danielle!" Luna had spotted her fellow Ravenclaw now and was coming over. Hermione gave Danielle a small nod before taking Abby over to Fred. The little girl clutched onto the older Gryffindor's hand and was mumbling about the patronus charm. Danielle turned away to look at the other girl who'd been held captive at the Malfoys for a period of time.

"Luna," Danielle nods. "Glad to see you're alright." Alright was a relative term, of course. Luna was completely coated in dirt and blood, but at least she was alive.

"Oh yes, I'm doing very well considering" the girl then lets out a sigh, "It's a shame about Fred, isn't it? And Lupin too; I had always considered him to be my favorite defense against the dark arts professors."

"Remus Lupin?" Danielle gasps, "The werewolf?" Luna nods sadly and points over to the other side of the room, where a tired looking middle aged man was lying dead on the floor. Tracy was over there now, biting her bottom lip to keep from shedding any more tears. There were other members of the DA standing around there too, comforting each other.

"You know, Zabini was brought down here as well," Luna's soft voice filters into Danielle's ear causing the girl to turn around in surprise.

"Blaise? How?" she asks frantically.

"McGonagall used a spell to summon everyone from our side who fell," Luna gives Danielle a small smile before pointing; "He's over there." Danielle nods her head at the girl thankfully before slowly walking over to the body. Nobody was around the lifeless Slytherin; and she was sort of glad for that as she sinks down onto her knees at his side.

"It was reckless," Danielle mumbles, "speaking that way to a death eater." She brings her hand up to wipe tears off her face, "Not that I don't agree with everything you said, because I do. It's just that you didn't have to put yourself in danger for me. Who am I to judge though, right? You told me before that a person's actions were never foolish unless they didn't have reasons that were their own for what they were doing. You were very insightful, you know, and charming; both to an almost frightening degree." Danielle pauses to smile, "I suspect you don't need me to tell you those things though. You already knew." Danielle jumps then when she feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns around and looks up to see Neville.

"He saved me once too," the Gryffindor sighs, and joins Danielle on the floor, "From Amycus Carrow." Neville then reaches into his robes and pulls out his DA coin, "That's what Dumbledore's army is all about right? Standing up for what is right? Looking out for the lives of others, even if it means endangering your own? I guess he was a member of the group just as much as any of us." Neville then leans over and tucks the gold coin into one of Blaise's hands. The gesture moves Danielle to tears again and Neville puts an arm around her shoulders. "That makes all four houses represented," He says before standing back up, "You were right Danielle. Not all Slytherins are evil." He gave her a smile while helping her to her feet as well. Tracy, Ron, Hermione, Luna, and Seamus walked up to join them then.

"Have either of you seen Harry?" Tracy looks between Danielle and Neville while dabbing a tissue to her eyes, "None of us can find him."

"I haven't seen him this whole time," Danielle says honestly.

"Neither have I," Neville replies.

"Let's not panic yet," Hermione takes a deep breath, "He may have just gone off somewhere to be alone. He feels really guilty about all of this."

"Not to mention what happened right before Voldemort made that announcement," Ron winces at the memory.

"What happened?" Seamus asks curiously.

"Snape," Hermione looks down, "He's dead."

"Well, that's good isn't it?" Neville asks, "He killed Dumbledore! He deserved what he got!"

"It wasn't a very pleasant thing to see," Hermione says avoiding details.

"Voldemort's sent his snake on him," Ron explains, "it was brutal… and messy." Danielle scrunches up her face in disgust.

"Wait," Luna hums, "Snape was a death eater though. Why would you-know-who kill someone from his own side." Danielle fights back a sarcastic laugh. She'd been wondering that since day one.

"Well, it's kind of a long story" Ron sighs, "But basically there is this unbeatable wand…"

"The elder wand from the deathly hallows?" Tracy asks and Ron nods in confusion, "Harry told me about those when we went to see the diadem. I thought they weren't real."

"We still don't know if they are," Hermione gives Ron a stern look. "But apparently Voldemort believes that they exist. While the three of us were off traveling, we discovered that he was searching for the elder wand, which is supposed to be the most powerful wand in the world."

"It's unbeatable!" Ron says excitedly earning him a glare from Hermione, "But the gist of the story is that the supposed elder wand had belonged to Dumbledore. So, Voldemort stole the wand after he died."

"Are you saying that you-know-who has the most powerful wand in existence?" Seamus asks looking horrified by the idea.

"He has it," Hermione sighs, "But it wasn't working for him. Wands are tricky like that. They only perform to their full potential in the hands of the person that won them from their previous owner."

"Voldemort didn't kill Dumbledore," Danielle gasps, "Snape did!"

"Yes," Hermione nods, "Which means that Voldemort had to kill Snape in order to gain the elder wands allegiance."

"It almost makes you feel bad for Snape," Neville mumbles. Danielle had to agree. Voldemort was a cruel, despicable person; that much was clear. Just like Blaise had told Mr. Nott, the death eaters were just a means to an end.

"But if you-know-who did kill Snape, than the elder wand will be working for him now," Luna points out causing a wave of fear to wash over the group.

"So what?" Danielle suddenly declares, "Dumbledore had the elder wand at one point too, remember? And what a whole lot of good that did him! Having an unbeatable wand does not make Voldemort unbeatable."

"Good point," Tracy nods to her best friend

"HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!" Voldemort's serpent like voice suddenly echoed through the castle once again causing everyone in the great had to fall silent and look around in shock. Danielle's heart nearly stopped… had she heard that right? "HE WAS KILLED AS HE RAN AWAY, TRYING TO SAVE HIMSELF WHILE YOU LAY DOWN YOUR LIVES FOR HIM. WE HAVE BROUGHT YOU HIS BODY AS PROOF THAT YOUR HERO IS GONE."

"No!" the word left Tracy's mouth without her meaning to. More tears came to her eyes and began rolling down her face. Danielle leans over and grabs her friend's arm to hold her steady since she looked ready to fall to her knees. This was bad.

"THE BATTLE IS WON!" Voldemort continued, "THERE MUST BE NO MORE WAR! ANYONE WHO RESISTS SHALL BE KILLED. SO, COME OUT OF THE CASTLE AND KNEEL BEFORE ME NOW AND YOU SHALL BE SPARED! JOIN ME IN THE NEW WORLD THAT WE SHALL BUILD TOGETHER!"

"It can't be true!" Hermione was shaking with emotion, "It just can't be!" Everyone then began leaving the great hall now; racing to get outside to see if it was true. Hermione and Ron went too, followed by the others from the DA. Danielle watched everyone filter out, still holding onto Tracy as she tried to spot her sister.

"This can't be happening," Tracy mutters; her voice was shaking terribly. She was desperately trying to hold herself together. Danielle tightened her grip on the girl's arm for both physical and mental support.

"Come on," Danielle tells her after a moment and begins leading her to the exit, "We've got to be strong." They move quickly into the entrance hall of the school since they were one of the last two remaining inside. Someone calls out Danielle's name though before they get to the door. Danielle stops and turns around and sees Draco coming down the main staircase quickly. She was relieved to see him again. "Is it true? Is Potter really…?" He looks hesitantly at Tracy, "Did the dark lord win?"

"We don't know," Danielle says as Tracy continues to fight back the devastation she was feeling.

"Well, I don't know if I should go out there," Draco says honestly. He was already an enemy to those in the order and the DA. Now he wasn't sure how the other death eaters would treat him after he had failed to come to them when summoned. Danielle reaches out and grabs one of his hands with her free one. All of their fates were uncertain right now, so it only made sense that they all go out to face the unknown together. Draco looks skeptically at the Ravenclaw for a moment before letting out a sigh and telling her to lead the way. When they get out in front of the school they pushed to the front of the crowd.

"NO! Harry! NO!" They heard and then saw Hermione sobbing against Ron's shoulder. There was fear in every single person's face; a look of defeat. In front of them stood Voldemort himself, with his army of death eaters standing faithfully behind him. Danielle felt sick when her eyes landed on the body lying on the ground at Voldemort's feet. It was Harry; there was no doubt about it. Tracy clutched harder onto Danielle's arm and let out a gut wrenching sob. Danielle winced at the pain but said nothing. She was too busy thinking; trying to come up with a way to turn this all around. Because this wasn't the way things were supposed to happen. Harry was not supposed to be dead. Could this even be real? Danielle was having trouble grasping the truth. What did this mean? The war was over? Voldemort had really won? That didn't seem right. Sure, Harry was important to them. His death was a great loss. But they could still fight… right? Apparently Neville felt the same.

"You're mad if you think this is over!" the boy shouts as he pushes out of the crowd, "we aren't done here! We aren't going to just bow out that easily!" Voldemort looked annoyed at this interruption. He gripped his wand tightly; the elder wand. Neville turned to look at the crowd behind him then, "Harry wouldn't want us to give up now!" he declares, "He gave his life to try and protect us! So did everyone else! We can't let their death's be in vain! We have to continue to fight!"

"Foolish boy!" Voldemort growls, "This is the end. And if you're so eager to die, then by all means…"

"Neville's right!" Luna's voice suddenly rises through the courtyard, "Harry was not our last hope! He is still our inspiration!" A murmur of agreement runs through the crowd. Danielle looks over at Tracy who had relinquished her grip on her friend's arm, and was not looking around to the others in the DA with determination on her face.

"I do not wish to spill anymore magical blood tonight!" Voldemort hisses, but it didn't stop the state of unrest building up in his enemies.

"How many horcruxes are left?" Tracy suddenly asks Ron and Hermione.

"Just the snake," Ron whispers, "Hermione and I managed to destroy the Hufflepuff cup, and the diadem was destroyed in the fiend fire."

"Excellent!" Tracy says, her eyes narrowed, looking ready to kill. She pulls out her wand and thrusts it into the air. Everyone in the crowd began reciprocating the move in a ripple effect around her. Voldemort was not looking pleased.

"Danielle…" Draco says sounding uneasy. He was a single death eater in the middle of an angry mob of people. Suddenly, they all began to charge forward. Danielle looked up at Draco to see a look of shock on his face. "I don't believe it," He mutters, "Potter… he just disappeared."

"What?" Danielle turns back toward where Harry had just been lying. It was hard to see through the throngs of people, but it seemed Draco was right. She couldn't spot Harry's lifeless corpse anywhere.

"What do you mean he just disappeared?" Danielle continues to try and spot the boy.

"I saw it too," Tracy says, looking ready to go join the battle that was in full swing again. "There was a quick movement and then he was gone."

"But how?" Danielle was so confused. Tracy shrugged before dashing forward into the mess of people, shouting angrily as she shot off hexes and jinxes at any hooded figure she saw. That's when Danielle suddenly remembered something…

"ABBY!" she shouts before sprinting off into the battle, dragging Draco behind her. If a death eater laid a single finger on her sister she was going to freak out. She continued to shout her sister's name even though she could hardly hear herself over the noise of the fight. Suddenly she felt Draco tug on her arm and she looked back at him.

"Over there!" He shouts and points over to where her sister stood; hiding behind McGonagall. Danielle took off toward them still clutching to Draco's hand. She knew that if she let go he would have to stay in his role. Danielle didn't want him fighting with the death eaters. She would never forgive him if he hurt one of her friends; not that she thought he would anyway. She also knew he wasn't going to fight against his own parents. So, she wasn't going to let him fight at all.

"Ms. Emmings!" McGonagall exclaims looking surprised to see the girl pop up. Her eyes narrow as the boy standing with her. Draco looked terrified but Danielle moves to put herself between the professor and her fiancé.

"He's with me!" Danielle says, "He's fine." McGonagall eyes Danielle carefully for a moment before pushing Abby toward her, saying, "Of for goodness sakes, Ms. Emmings, get these two out of here!"

Danielle holds out her free hand for her sister to take before running back off toward the castle. It was a good thing that the order and DA seemed to be doing a fair job at holding the death eaters back this time because Danielle didn't have a free hand to use her wand. The three were running up the castle steps when they heard someone shout Draco's name.

"Mother! Father!" Draco quickly pulled his hand away from Danielle. He looked terrified and unsure of how he was supposed to act after being caught with Danielle and her sister; fleeing from battle. "I… Potter… he…"

"He's alive! I know!" Narcissa Malfoy beams, "now get inside! Quick!" Danielle and Draco exchange confused glances before turning and continuing into the school. Both Lucius and Narcissa followed in and ushered them into the great hall. Danielle didn't really want the two death eaters around all of her fallen allies, but wasn't sure if it was worth it to try and stop them either. Once they were safely inside, Narcissa turned to her son.

"Draco!" She smiles even though she had tears in her eyes. She reaches forward and takes her son's face in her hands, "We were so worried when you didn't show up after the dark lord summoned you!"

"I thought I told you to come back to the forest once you found the traitor!" Lucius says and Danielle is taken aback by the amount of worry in the man's voice. "Were you captured?"

"Father… no… I," Draco didn't know whether to lie or tell the truth. "I had to make sure Danielle was ok … Mr. Nott… he… I mean… I wasn't saving her … but he just"

"It's ok Draco!" Lucius says as he puts his hand on the boy's shoulder, "We're just glad you're ok. I was an idiot for leaving you by yourself."

"But…" Draco looked like he was having an identity crisis as his mother pulls him into a hug and his father continues to pat him gently on the back. Danielle felt awkward watching them. She'd never seen either of Draco's parents act this way. It made her nervous. She didn't know whether to trust them or not.

"Harry's really alive?" Abby asks softly after a moment and Narcissa turns to look at the two girls.

"Yes," she confirms.

"Why would Voldemort lie about him being dead then?" Danielle asks. Narcissa winced at the use of the dark lord's name. "And the body… where did he get it? It looked real."

"The dark lord didn't lie," Narcissa explains, "He truly thought he had won. The body you saw was indeed the real Harry Potter; he was just pretending to be dead."

"I don't understand," Danielle admits.

"Potter came out to the forest to give himself up like the dark lord had asked him to," Narcissa goes on, "The boy didn't even put up a fight. He just let the dark lord take his life with the killing curse."

"If Harry got hit with the killing curse, doesn't that mean that he's really dead?" Abby whimpers. Danielle puts a hand on her sister's shoulder to comfort her.

"It doesn't make sense," Narcissa agrees, "After it was over, the dark lord ordered me to check to see if Harry was really dead. I went over and saw he was still breathing; and I could feel his pulse. I couldn't believe it; he'd survived the killing curse again."

"What did you do then, mother?" Draco watches his mom carefully.

"I whispered to him," Narcissa wrings her hands together nervously then, "I asked him if you were still alive inside the castle; and he told me that you were. I knew that the only way the dark lord would let me back into the school so that I could find you, was if he had believed he had won. So I back up, and announced to everyone that Potter was dead."

"MOTHER!" Draco looks at her with his mouth agape (like a black abyss), "You really lied to the dark lord? And he believed you?" Danielle was stunned as well. This night had taken too many surprising turns for her to count, but this was by far the most shocking. Narcissa Malfoy, the cowardly submissive pureblood supremacist, had looked into the evil blood red eyes of the dark lord and told him a lie. And not just any lie; the worst lie imaginable. Harry was alive! The reality of that was sinking in now and Danielle felt the first signs of happiness growing inside of her. Harry Potter was alive!

"I'm so sorry you've been through all of this Draco," Narcissa begins to tear up again and pulls her son back into a hug. "I'll never forgive myself for standing by and watching you suffer. I've been a terrible mother." Draco looked like he wanted nothing more than to sink into his mother's arms and cry his eyes out with her. But he was still uncertain about his father, and eyed them man cautiously over his mother's shoulder.

"Your mother's right," Lucius admits, though his face was blank and his voice was clear of emotion. "We should have kept you out of this. It wasn't your war to fight. We've been so lucky that you've made it this far."

"I'll never be able to understand how you were able to complete the tasks assigned to you last year and make it through all those missions over the summer," Narcissa blubbers on.

"I still don't know how you managed to fix that vanishing cabinet," Lucius speaks up again, finally looking down at his feet in shame, "the dark lord was certain that you'd fail. You were meant to fail. You were meant to die for my mistake." Draco looks over at Danielle then. He knew that he would be dead right now if it hadn't been for her. Narcissa follows her son's gaze and suddenly remembers that the two Emmings girls were there.

"How on earth did YOU end up here, anyway?" Narcissa asks, looking at Danielle expectantly, "You were meant to stay back at the manor!"

"It was Mr. Nott!" Draco answers for her frantically. "He took her! He was going to hurt her!"

"I'm here because I made Draco bring me," Danielle corrects him. She was sick of the lies. Plus, the Malfoys has just betrayed their own side in the worst way by lying about Harry. They couldn't really judge her. "Theo's father was only going to hurt me because he saw me fighting with the order."

"Well…" Narcissa looks conflicted about how to respond.

"She killed Greyback," Draco announces to his parents who widen their eyes in shock.

"Well, I can't say I'm sorry about that," Narcissa admits.

"I suppose that isn't really treachery then," Lucius surprisingly speaks up with a smirk. "I mean, Emmings did warn him after all. The guy just picked a fight with the wrong witch. That's all." Danielle looked at Draco and actually let out a laugh. Hell must have frozen over, and pigs must have grown wings, because Lucius Malfoy had just defended her. Draco smiled back. Clearly her Malfoy Powers even worked with the Malfoys themselves. No, she couldn't go that far. That had just been Lucius' backwards way of telling her that he wasn't angry about anything she'd done so far; that she was off the hook for now. The smile slipped off of Danielle's face then when she heard an explosion come from outside. She lifted up her wand and looked toward the door.

"No," Draco catches on immediately and pulls himself away from his mother so that he can grab Danielle by the arm. "You're staying here." Danielle looks at him and raises an eyebrow. "Please?" He adds looking a little annoyed.

"It doesn't matter how polite you ask me," Danielle then sighs as she pulls away from Draco's grasp. "I should be out helping my friends. They need me more than you do right now. You're safe in here."

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Lucius says to Danielle sounding bored. "But aren't YOU safe in here as well? Why would you want to go back out there? You'll be killed."

"You don't know that," Danielle responds fiercely, "For all you know, I could make the difference between someone living or dying."

"You staying here could make the difference between yourself living or dying," Narcissa points out.

"That's such a Slytherin thing to say," Danielle almost laughs. "Thanks for your concern guys but really…"

"I'm sorry but I can't let you go back out there," Draco reaches over and wraps his hands firmly around Danielle's wrists so that she can't leave. "Look at what happened the last time! What if another death eater wants to single you out for being a traitor?"

"I'll be more careful this time," Danielle sighs impatiently. "I just freaked out before because of Greyback. I'll be fine now. I can't just sit in here while my friends are out there fighting."

"Yes, you can just sit here," Narcissa snaps. "It's your duty as the future Mrs. Malfoy to not die before you can…"

"You can't be serious!" Danielle throws her hands up in the air, "Merlin forbid I don't die on the Malfoy's schedule!"

"Just sit down," Lucius frowns and pushes Danielle over to one of the house tables and forces her to fall down onto one of the benches. Draco walks over and sits next to here with a satisfied smirk on his face. Danielle just crosses her arms and looks away from him. She wasn't happy with him right now. Abby looked relieved that the Malfoy's seemed to win this argument. She hadn't wanted her sister to go back out into the danger either. She went and sat on the other side of her sister and tried not to think about the terrible things going on just outside the castle.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed a nice long chapter this time! More like this if you leave me a review! **


	72. Part Two: Chapter Forty

Part Two: Chapter Forty

Tracy was crashing through the battle and taking down every death eater in sight. She would show no more mercy. These people had killed Lupin. These people had killed Fred. She only hoped that everything about Harry being dead was a mistake. There was obviously something off about his death. For one, his body had just suddenly vanished. Dead bodies didn't normally do that. But then again, living ones didn't do that very often either.

Tracy took a moment to look around once again; hoping she'd catch a glimpse of her boyfriend alive and well somewhere in the chaos. All she managed to spot however; was Bellatrix Lestrange sneaking up behind Neville as he bent over to look at something he'd noticed lying on the ground. Tracy narrowed her eyes and flicked her wand at the menacing women who turned and blocked the spell just in time. Her attention was off of Neville, and now on Tracy.

"That wasn't very nice," the woman smiled in her psychotic way as she began creeping toward Tracy. Bellatrix flicks her wrist and sends a flash of green light toward the girl who just barely avoids being hit with the killing curse. Tracy lets out a breath. This death eater was quick; too quick. Bellatrix frowned. She obviously hadn't expected her attack to be thwarted. So she quickly threw four more curses in a row at Tracy. The younger girl blocked them all before waving her wand to send her own hexes which Bellatrix blocked with a powerful shield charm.

"You're pretty good with that thing," Bellatrix nods to Tracy's wand as she continues to bombard the Ravenclaw with curse after curse. Tracy didn't answer. She knew Bellatrix was one of the most dangerous death eaters there was. Tracy couldn't afford to lose her focus. Bellatrix was incredible at dueling as well. One wrong move and she was dead. The two continued to flick spells at each other and Tracy was starting to feel uncomfortable with how much of her focus was solely on the death eater in front of her. She needed to be able to keep track of what was going on around her as well.

"Get her Tracy!" Neville shouts out and Tracy nods. She needed to end this now. She narrowed her eyes and watched Bellatrix's movements carefully. They continued to throw killing curses at each other in a flurry of jabs, slashes, and waves. People around them from both sides stopped fighting and parted ways to leave the two some space. Tracy could feel the muscles in her right arm burning as she shielded herself from and sent off jets of green light. Bellatrix was no longer smiling; she was scowling and moving toward Tracy even more aggressively. "Give it up deary," She taunts, "Your precious boy-toy Potter is dead, so all this effort is pointless." Tracy once again remained silent, she wasn't going to let this woman goad her into making a wrong move. Instead, Tracy stopped backing away and took one step forward. This infuriated the mad woman, and she brought her arm up high to send another curse. Tracy took advantage of this split second opportunity and flicked her wand as fast as she could. Nobody even saw the green light shoot from Tracy's wand and hit Bellatrix square in the stomach because it had all happened almost instantaneously. Tracy only knew that it had because Bellatrix suddenly froze in front of her for a second before falling back limply to the ground. Tracy let out a breath that she hadn't even known she had been holding before she suddenly hears cheers from people all around her, and feels people clapping her on the back.

"Nice one!" Neville smiles at her. "Brilliant."

"Thanks," Tracy says sounding out of breath as she looks down at her dead opponent. Bellatrix would never hurt, torture, or kill anyone again. She finally turns away and looks at Neville, who she now noticed was holding a sword. The encounter with Bellatrix fled from her mind as she processed this new development.

"Neville, is that…"

"The sword of Gryffindor?" he gives her a grin, "I believe it is."

"How is that possible?" Tracy gasps, "Harry told me that a goblin at Gringotts stole the sword from him."

"Apparently the sorting hat thought I needed it more," Neville shrugs as he holds up the shining silver, ruby encrusted sword.

"The sorting hat?" Tracy raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, the sorting hat" Neville nods, "I just found it lying on the ground. It must have been blown out of the castle during the battle. When I went to take a closer look, the sword just appeared inside of it. I think the same thing happened to Harry before in the chamber of secrets, actually."

"Neville, this is incredible!" Tracy says excitedly. She wanted to snatch the sword away from the boy and go find and kill the snake horcrux herself, but she wasn't a Gryffindor; the sword hadn't presented itself to her. "Look," she tells him, "This is going to sound crazy, but the only way to destroy Voldemort is by killing his pet snake with THAT sword."

"Really?" Neville looked down at the sword in awe.

"Yes," Tracy nods, "Can I trust you to do it?"

"Of course!" Neville puts on a serious face, "One dead snake coming up." The boy then dashed off into the battle eagerly. Tracy looked around to see many people still staring at her because of her action packed battle with Bellatrix. Many of the death eaters were avoiding her now too. If the best dueler on their side couldn't beat Tracy, what chance did they really have?

Tracy shrugged before jumping back into the fight. If nobody was going to come to her, she would just go to them; that gave her the upper hand anyway. That's when she caught a glimpse of green to her right. She ducked down behind a fallen pillar just as the blast soared past. She twisted around and sent a killing curse right back toward the death eater that had tried to kill her. Cowards, she thought, now they're going to try to get me while my back is turned; some advantage. A clicking noise came from behind her then and she swirled around to find herself face to face with one of the giant acromantulas from the forest.

"I thought we took care of all of you," Tracy says before flicking her wand at the creature, "Arania Exumei!" She scanned the battle again after that to check for any more left over spiders. Thankfully, all the giants and insects seemed to be taken care of. It was just the death eaters left now.

"TRACY!" Seamus' Irish accent suddenly shouts from behind her, "TRACY LOOK!" Tracy turns around and gasps. In the center of the courtyard Voldemort stood, holding out his wand which was sending out a continuous bright green jet of light. On the other end of the killing curse, was Harry. He was standing strong and sending out his own blast of light that was connecting to Voldemort's killing curse; forming an odd magical connection. So, he WAS alive. Tracy smiled even though Harry was still in very real danger. Slowly, everyone around her began to realize what was happening too and stopped their fights to watch Harry and Voldemort's showdown. Neville came up to Tracy's side a moment later dragging the Gryffindor sword behind him: it was bloody.

"You got the snake?" Tracy asks and Neville nods his head. This was it then, Tracy thinks, Voldemort was mortal.

"Would you like to know why the elder wand isn't working for you, Voldemort?" Harry suddenly asks cheerfully as he continues to hold the connection between his and his enemy's wands. Voldemort just growls in annoyance. "You killed Snape in the hopes of winning the wands allegiance, didn't you?" Harry continues. Voldemort narrows his eyes and thrusts the elder wand forward to try and break Harry's concentration. It didn't work. "You thought Snape was the true wand owner because he killed Dumbledore," Harry grits his teeth and shoves his wand forward as well to counter balance Voldemort's attack. "You weren't on the astronomy tower the night Dumbledore died, but I was." Harry thrashed his wand to send a pulse of magic through the connection and make his enemy falter. "Snape did kill Dumbledore, but someone else had disarmed him before that. That night, the elder wand pledged itself to Draco Malfoy."

"Draco Malfoy?!" Seamus gasps in disbelief.

"I'm not gonna lie," Neville looks to Tracy, "that one came out of left field."

"Yeah," Tracy nods, "Not even the Divination professor could have predicted that one. But I'm surprised you know that expression Neville, it originated from muggle baseball."

"I learned it in muggle studies, third year" The boy shrugs before turning back to Harry and Voldemort.

Meanwhile, Draco was standing awkwardly in the doorway outside of the castle. He, his parents, Danielle, and Abby had heard everything get quiet outside and had come out to see what was going on. They were surprised to see Harry having a conversation with Voldemort that involved the young Malfoy heir.

"I didn't know you disarmed Dumbledore," Danielle looks up at Draco curiously.

"He told me too," The boy whispers so that his parents wouldn't hear, "What the heck is the elder wand?"

"The most powerful wand ever created," Danielle frowns.

"What?!" Draco gasps looking shocked, "And it belongs to me?" Danielle just shrugs and turns back to the fight. Voldemort was looking extremely pissed off now and she didn't want to miss anything.

"That's no matter, Potter!" He was shouting, "I'll kill the Malfoy boy just as soon as I kill you. Then the wand will be mine!"

"You don't understand," Harry smiles viciously, the connection between his and Voldemort's wands was still holding strong. "You know how I took Draco's wand from him the other night when I escaped his manor?" Voldemort's face fell as he realized what Harry was trying to say. The Gryffindor boy smiled wider now, "I'll take that as a yes." He says, "So, I'll be taking my wand back now." With one more thrust of his wand, Harry sent another blast through the connection; completely overpowering Voldemort's killing curse. Voldemort let out a howl of fury as his own spell backfired against him; completely shrouding him in green light. The elder wand flew out of the man's hand and soared through the air until it landed perfectly into Harry's outstretched palm. The light from the curse faded, leaving behind the crumpled form of Voldemort's body; lifeless on the ground.

"YEAH HARRY!" Abby's voice shouts out over the battlefield then, triggering an uproar of cheering and applause to sweep through the crowd. The remaining death eaters quickly began to flee, knowing that if they stuck around it would mean certain imprisonment. Members of the order and the DA went after them, stunning as many as they could. Tracy ignored them all though. She just ran forward and jumped into Harry's arms. He welcomed the embrace; lifting his girlfriend off the ground and spinning her around before planting a huge kiss on her mouth. Abby dashed out onto the grounds at lightning speed when she saw Ron coming back toward the castle with Hermione. The red headed boy bent down, and lifted Abby up onto his shoulders which threw the girl into a fit of laughter. Danielle smiled at her sister before turning to look at Draco. Her face fell when she saw that Draco didn't look happy.

"They're going to send us to Azkaban, aren't they?" Draco looks up at his father to avoid Danielle's eyes. She had heard what he said though; and it made her worry to think that she might have another hurdle to jump already.

"I'll take whatever punishment they give me," Lucius sighs in defeat. "I'm not spending the rest of my life on the run." Narcissa begins to wring her hands together nervously again, and Draco's face had lost all of its color.

"I'm not spending the rest of my life being married to an inmate in Azkaban," Danielle turned and put her hands on her hips.

"Then I guess it's a good thing that we're calling the whole thing off then," Lucius looks down at Danielle with a frown.

"What?" Danielle gasps in shock. She hadn't expected that. Draco's eyes went, if possible, even wider.

"We know you never wanted to be in this arrangement," Lucius states in a matter of fact tone "And now that it isn't going to benefit either of us in any way; what is the point?"

"You're right Lucius," Narcissa frowns, "We have nothing to offer her now. Draco, take her ring and let the girl get on with her life." Draco finally looked over at Danielle. He looked conflicted to the point of sickness but took a step forward and reached for his fiancée's hand anyway. Danielle snatched her hand away before he could take it.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," Lucius gives Danielle a disapproving look. "Don't tell me you're changing your mind about the whole thing now?"

"What part of 'I don't care about your money or power' don't you understand?" Danielle crosses her arms to hide her hands. "I haven't changed my mind about anything, but I'll stop being future Mrs. Malfoy when I DECIDE to stop being future Mrs. Malfoy. Let's talk about this later, alright? We just won the war for crying out loud!"

"You just won the war, you mean" Lucius raises an eyebrow.

"You've won your freedom!" Danielle throws her hands out; forgetting about trying to hide them. "You aren't slaves anymore. You're in control of your own lives again! You should be celebrating!"

"We'll have plenty of time to celebrate in Azkaban!" Draco mutters angrily.

"You aren't going to Azkaban!" Danielle snaps determinedly. People had started filtering back into the school now; the death eaters that had been captured were being taken into the dungeons to wait until they could be given trials while everyone else went into the great hall to start recovering after their victory. Harry and Tracy stopped on their way in when they saw Danielle.

"Here's your wand back, Malfoy," Harry says as he hands over the weapon that had just killed the dark lord. Draco didn't take it; he just stared down at it bitterly.

"What's the point, Potter? They're just going to take it right back away when they lock me up," He says in monotone. Danielle looks to her Gryffindor friend, curious about how he'd respond.

"Lock you up?" Harry asks, "For what? Helping me, Ron, and Hermione escape from the manor? If it weren't for you Malfoy, Voldemort would have won; same for your mother." Harry turned to Narcissa, "Thank you by the way. I know you didn't lie to Voldemort on my account, but still, I owe you one."

"I didn't help you escape from anything!" Draco sputters looking flustered. Harry smirks at him.

"Really?" he asks, "Who ordered your house elf Inky to send for help then I wonder…"

"How do you know our house elf's name?" Lucius narrows his eyes.

"Dobby used to belong to you, right?" Harry raises his eyebrows, "Apparently he and Inky go way back." Then, without another word, Harry pushes the wand into Draco's hand and takes Tracy to make their way into the great hall with everyone else. Danielle was beyond shocked. Had Draco really told Inky to find someone to help Harry escape that day? She knew she couldn't question him about it now in front of his parents though. She had to wait.

"Well, looks like you and your mother may be off the hook after all," Lucius looks to Draco and then to his wife. "Potter has just defeated the dark lord, if he testifies in your defense, I'm sure that you'll both be pardoned. Nobody is going to deny that boy anything now." Danielle was filled with joy at this news. She would have been seriously pissed if Draco got locked up after everything they'd gone through. She really could care less about his parents though, but if Harry thought Narcissa deserved a break too than that was fine with her.

"We better head inside," Danielle then turns and looks at the three, battle worn blondes next to her.

"I don't think that's such a great idea," Narcissa says seriously. "It wouldn't be right. Potter may be able to look past our dark history, but I don't think anyone else will; at least not right now."

"And I saw the way your friend, Ms. Ross, was looking at me just now," Lucius grimaces, "She wants me dead."

"Well, you did kill Lupin," Draco looks at his father accusingly. Danielle gasped and backed away from Lucius instinctively.

"See?" Lucius sighs, "I think Ms. Emmings would agree that I do not belong in there. I think us Malfoys would be better off returning home until everything settles down." Danielle pulls her wand and aims it at the man. He only smiles in response; the first time she'd ever seen him smile. He reached out and pushed the wand from his face, "Don't worry. I won't run. It wouldn't do anything to hurt my wife and son's chances of getting pardoned. They'd be accused of helping me avoid my punishment. I can't have that, can I?" Danielle eyes the man for a moment before sighing and looking to Draco. There was something awkward between them now. They'd never parted ways like this before. It had always been scary good-byes involving hugs and urgent pleading to stay safe and not die.

"Here," Danielle sighs and walks over to him; pointing her wand to his forehead. She muttered an incantation that caused the burns on his skin to slowly face until there were no marks left. Narcissa narrowed her eyes for a moment before gasping; as if realizing something. Danielle ignored her.

"Am I ever going to see you again?" Draco asks looking embarrassed. He avoided the stares of his parents.

"All my stuff is still at the manor," Danielle says as an answer.

"Inky can just pack it up and send if off for you," Draco replies.

"I'd rather be there to make sure nothing gets left behind," Danielle raises an eyebrow. "I don't want to get all the way home only to find out you've decided to borrow any my things again." Draco had to clench his jaw muscles and look away to keep the smile off is face. Danielle laughs, "So, I'll see you later then?" He nods. "Alright," She says and then looks to Narcissa. "Bye." She didn't know why she felt the need to acknowledge Draco's mom, but she did. Narcissa nodded back though with, not a smile, but definitely some sort of look of acceptance. Danielle would take that. She waved once more at Draco, before turning around and heading to the great hall to find her sister.

* * *

**So guys, what do you think about Draco sending Inky to get Dobby to help save Harry, Ron, and Hermione from the manor? :) And how do you feel about the Malfoy's breaking off the engagement? What are your predictions? I'd love to hear what you all think!_  
_**

**p.s only one more chapter left of part two!**


	73. Part Two: Chapter Forty One

**Alright readers, this is it! This is the last chapter of part two!**

Part Two: Chapter Forty One

"Since when do you sleep with your wand under your pillow?" Tracy asks her best friend with a frown. She'd come into Danielle's room to tell her breakfast was ready but almost got her head hexed off in the process. The two Ravenclaws, and Abby had been invited to come back and stay at the Weasleys safe house until things were settled a bit more and they could go back to the states. The war was still affecting everyone, of course, but Danielle was particularly on edge after staying at the manor for so long.

"Sorry," Danielle sighs and lowers her wand. She reaches up and puts a hand to her head. Images from her dream still lingered in her mind; the blank look in Blaise's dead eye's, Greyback's creepy smile, and the great hall lined with corpses.

"Everyone's downstairs for breakfast," Tracy tells the girl, "Molly made pancakes."

"You're kidding," Danielle frowns, "That's not right. She shouldn't be cooking for everyone, she should be resting. After everything that happened yesterday night… after Fred…" Tracy winces at the mention of the fallen twin.

"I told her not to," she admits, "But she says it helps her think and get through the grieving. She doesn't want to check out after losing one child when she still has six other children left to care for."

"That makes sense," Danielle sighs, "But still… so soon? It's only been a day."

"It's what she wants," Tracy shrugs. "Now come on, Harry's ready to tell us what happened when he went to the forbidden forest to turn himself over."

"Really?" Danielle stands up and grabs some clothes to throw on. Tracy just nods as a reply. Danielle finishes getting ready before heading downstairs with Tracy to join Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and Abby at the kitchen table.

"Where's dad?" Ron asks his mother when she turns around and sets a platter full of hot pancakes on the table. Danielle's heart broke at the woman's red, puffy eyes.

"With Kingsley," She sniffs, "trying to figure out how to put the ministry back together." Danielle hadn't thought about that yet. Voldemort had killed the previous minister of magic and completely uprooted the previous governing system to replace it with his own ideas and death eaters.

"Is George still in bed?" Ginny asks quietly. Mrs. Weasley's eyes fill with tears so she just nods her head yes before turning back to the stove. "He'll be alright," Ginny looks over to her friends then optimistically, "In time, we all will." Everyone nods their head in agreement.

"So Harry, are you going to tell us how you survived the killing curse again mate?" Ron asks to change the subject. He didn't want to talk about his dead brother any longer.

"Yeah," Harry agrees with a sigh, "You see, it all started after we saw what happened to Snape." Ron and Hermione grimaced; they didn't know if they wanted to talk about that either. "Remember what he did before he died?"

"Yeah" Hermione whispers, "He gave you those memories."

"Right," Harry nods. "And it was right after that when Voldemort made that announcement; asking me to turn myself over to him."

"I remember," Ron nods, "That's also when the death eaters retreated, and we all headed to the great hall."

"You guys went to the great hall," Harry corrects, "I left almost immediately. I didn't want to see it all yet. I didn't want to see everyone who'd died for me, or to see people hurting and suffering on my behalf."

"Oh Harry, you know it's not like that" Tracy assures him, "Nobody blames you. We were fighting for you, sure, but we were also fighting for ourselves."

"I know," Harry smiles over to his girlfriend appreciatively. "But at the time it was just too much. So, I went to Dumbledore's office. He has a pensieve in there, you know. It's the one Dumbledore and I used in our lessons last year to watch the memories about Voldemort."

"Did you watch the memories that Snape gave you?" Ginny asks looking nervous. Who knows what sort of horrible things the treacherous death eater would make Harry see.

"Yes," Harry confirms, "What I saw was shocking. There were dozens of memories; all short but all significant. There were memories he had of my mother; and memories he had with Dumbledore."

"Your mother?" Hermione gasps, "Harry…"

"He was in love with her," Harry looks down at his pancakes. "He's always been in love with her; since the moment he came to Hogwarts as a first year student and met her."

"But Harry, your mother was a muggleborn… and Snape… he was Slytherin, and a death eater" Ron looks completely awestruck by this news.

"Trust me," Harry says, "He loved her. During the first wizarding war, he turned on Voldemort for her. Voldemort had heard about the prophecy, and Snape went to Dumbledore to warn him, to ask Dumbledore to protect her. Because, while Voldemort didn't know exactly what the prophecy entailed, he did know that it was about me. And to get to me, Snape knew Voldemort would have to get through my parents; namely my mother."

"But, if Snape turned on Voldemort during the first war… why was he still a death eater in the second one?" Danielle asks, "Voldemort wouldn't have let Snape back onto his side if he'd betrayed him once already."

"Voldemort didn't know Snape defected," Harry explains, "Dumbledore told Snape that he'd protect my mother, as long as Snape turned spy for the order. Voldemort has believed this whole time that Snape was loyal to him, but really, he was loyal to Dumbledore."

"It doesn't seem like Snape was loyal to Dumbledore," Abby frowns, "since he did KILL him and everything."

"Well, Dumbledore didn't really hold up his end of the deal, did he?" Danielle asks, "Harry's mother was killed even though Dumbledore promised to protect her. Not that it makes what Snape did right or anything…"

"It isn't Dumbledore's fault that Harry's mom died," Hermione recalls, "Dumbledore set up a safe house for Harry and his parents, but one of Harry's father's friends betrayed their location to Voldemort to save himself."

"Oh yeah!" Ron gasps.

"That's right," Harry nods, "And Snape didn't kill Dumbledore out of revenge or anything. He did it so that Malfoy wouldn't have to."

"What?!" Danielle chokes on the bite of pancake she'd just taken, "No way!"

"Yes way," Harry gives the girl a small smile, "Dumbledore's death was planned. I saw it in the pensieve. The summer before our 6th year, Dumbledore had already begun looking for the horcruxes. He found a ring that belonged to Voldemort's family, but when he tried to destroy it, it cursed him. Snape tried to stop the curse, but it was too powerful. It was going to slowly kill him no matter what."

"Dumbledore was dying anyway!?" Ginny gasps.

"Oh my gosh," Danielle fought back her overwhelming feelings. "Dumbledore promised Draco he wouldn't have to kill him… and he was true to his word. Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him didn't he? That way Draco would be spared from completing his task, and Snape would be able to look like a true loyal death eater."

"That's exactly right," Harry nods. "Snape didn't want to do it, mind you. He begged Dumbledore to call it all off, but Dumbledore insisted."

"Poor Snape," Tracy sighs, "All those horrible things we've said about him. Yet he was so brave; acting as a double agent against Voldemort all this time. Be had to betray the trust of everyone in the order to stay in Voldemort's good graces; how horrible!"

"Yeah," Harry nods, "and meanwhile he'd been doing everything he could to help me in my quest to destroy the horcruxes."

"How?" Ron asks, "I don't remember him helping us at all."

"We found the sword of Gryffindor in the woods," Harry reveals, "Snape was the one who put it there." Hermione gasped then and lifted her hand to her mouth.

"Unbelievable," Tracy actually laughs.

"So how does all that fit into you sacrificing yourself in the forbidden forest?" Danielle asks eagerly.

"One of the memories Snape gave me was a conversation between himself and Dumbledore," Harry goes on with a shaky sigh. "Dumbledore told Snape that on the night Voldemort killed my parents, a part of his soul broke off and latched onto me."

"Neither can live while the other survives," Tracy's eyes fill with tears, "Harry… you were the seventh horcrux?"

"That's right," Harry nods, "I had to die. I had to give myself up, because the part of Voldemort's soul inside of me had to be destroyed if we ever wanted to kill Voldemort himself."

"So, how are you alive?" Abby asks with wide eyes.

"The deathly hallows," Harry tells her.

"The deathly hallows?!" Hermione gasps, "How?"

"I already explained how I got the elder wand," Harry tells them, "and you all know I already have the invisibility cloak. That leaves the resurrection stone."

"Where'd you find it Harry?" Ron asks excitedly then, "Why didn't you tell us you had it?"

"I didn't know I had it until I went out into the woods to give myself up," Harry says truthfully. "Dumbledore left me that snitch in his will. As I made my way to the forest, it broke open. The stone was inside of it."

"I love that guy," Danielle blurts out, "I'm sorry but I love Dumbledore." Tracy laughs at her friend but has to agree that their old headmaster was in fact, brilliant.

"But what does it mean?" Ginny asks in confusion.

"When a person is in possession of all three items of the deathly hallows," Ron explains, "It makes them the master of death."

"That's how you survived?!" Danielle gasps, "Holy crap! Harry! You're immortal?"

"Only for that moment," Harry assures her. "I'm glad I was able to survive that time, but it isn't right for anyone to be able to cheat death in that way. So, after Mrs. Malfoy lied to Voldemort and they started dragging me out from the woods, I dropped the stone. I don't think anyone will ever find it in there. And the elder wand, I snapped it in half, and burned the pieces after the battle was over. Those two seemed like the most dangerous. I'm keeping my cloak though."

"Wow," Tracy lets out a breath and leans back in her chair. "That's all so incredible."

"You're a real hero, Harry" Abby beams over at the boy.

"Nah," He laughs, "I'm just really lucky."

The group continued to talk after that; laughing, crying, and sharing stories about their best and worst moments during the last year. It was all starting to sink in for Danielle that the war was over. They were all safe now. There would be no more lying awake at night, hoping that her sister, Tracy, and the other DA members were safe at Hogwarts. There would be no more holding her tongue as she sat and ate dinner with a table full of death eaters. There would be no more fear, torture, or death. It was wonderful, but it had come at a high cost. So many incredible people had died; two of which Danielle felt directly responsible for. Well, one she guessed now. Dumbledore hadn't died because of her after all. She wondered if he would be proud of her. She'd done her job hadn't she? It seemed like forever ago that Danielle had taken Draco to the great headmaster's office to come up with a plan to save him from the mark on his arm. She wasn't even sure if she had accomplished that really though. But one thing was for sure, Danielle had stuck by Draco's side for the entire duration of the war and done everything she could to protect him, while also keeping herself alive and not neglecting the needs of her friends. That had to count for something. And as for Blaise, Danielle knew she'd never really be okay with the way he died. She'd just have to be content knowing that while he did die trying to save her, it had been his choice to come into that empty classroom and boldly speak his mind to the death eater holding her captive. He had died honorably, just as Fred, Lupin, and so many others had. It made Danielle proud and sad at the same time to think about it; she supposed it would always feel that way. The important thing, she could almost hear Blaise telling her, was that she refrain from going on as if she had died too. She needed to embrace this opportunity to live and make the most out of the new world that would surely be born from people like Blaise's deaths.

* * *

"I'm sorry it's taking so long to get you guys approved to go back to the states," Mr. Weasley sighs as he sits down across from Danielle and Tracy. "It's been a hard road getting the ministry back running again; while also trying to decide what to do with all the captured death eaters. They've all been tried and sentenced now though. We've got wizards guarding Azkaban, until we can get the dementors back under control. A man named Tiberius McLaggen has been named temporary Minister of Magic. He was close to the previous minister before he died, and should be able to run things smoothly for now."

"Don't worry, Mr. Weasley," Tracy smiles kindly, "It's only been a week since the battle at Hogwarts. Don't rush yourself on our account. I know how busy you must be. I'm just glad things seem to be coming along for you."

"Well, I just know you must be eager to get home to be with your families," Mr. Weasley confesses, "Ms. Emmings here hasn't been home in nearly two years now. It's not right."

"Hold on," Danielle looks up quickly, "Did you say all of the death eaters have been sentenced?" Mr. Weasley nods and Danielle widens her eyes, "All of them?"

"Yes," He confirms with a little laugh. "You must be wondering about young Mr. Malfoy and his family."

"I thought someone would have told me before it happened," Danielle admits anxiously. "I sort of wanted to be there… at least for Draco…"

"Don't worry," The older man smiles kindly at her, "Both Draco and his Mother were cleared of all charges. Harry, as you know, has been kept quite involved in the rebuilding of the ministry; something he isn't thrilled about, but in any case, he went personally to both Narcissa and Draco's trials to make sure they were treated fairly."

"So… that means…" Danielle could hardly believe it, "They are both completely free? They weren't punished at all?"

"That's right," Mr. Weasley nods, "Free and clear. I can't say the same for Lucius though… he…" Tracy had involuntarily let out a growl in response to the eldest Malfoy's name.

"He killed Lupin," She bites out. "I hope they've decided to lock him up and destroy the key."

"He was lucky to get that," Mr. Weasley reveals. "It would have been the dementor's kiss for him had it been a possible option."

"So, Mrs. Malfoy and Draco are back at the manor?" Danielle asks and Mr. Weasley nods. "When can I go there then?"

"Go there?!" He nearly jumps out of his seat, "Good heavens child, you must be joking! You can't possibly want to go back there after everything you've been through!"

"I'm not joking," Danielle frowns, "I want to see Draco. He's probably freaking out right now. His father was just sent to Azkaban for life. I know Lucius is scum, but he's still Draco's dad. And after the stress of the trial and everything, I just want to see him. He's… he's my friend and I wanted to say good-bye to him before I went back to the states anyway." Mr. Weasley still looked skeptically about the whole thing. Everyone in the house knew that Danielle was having a hard time coping with what happened to her during the war, and final battle. It was no secret that she'd been plagued with nightmares ever since the first night she'd stayed in the house.

"Would it make you feel better if you went over and talked to them first?" Tracy suggests to Mr. Weasley, "I won't deny I hate Lucius. Narcissa I'm unsure of, but I have no problems with Draco. Danielle will be fine with him. He won't do anything to her. If you talk to him you'll see."

"It isn't the Malfoys themselves I'm worried about," Mr. Weasley admits. "It's Danielle's reaction to being back in the manor."

"Oh," Tracy looks to Danielle then curiously. "Do you think you'll freak out or something if you go back there?"

"I think if I was going to freak out in the manor it would have been while the place was littered with Death Eaters and my life was in constant danger," Danielle crosses her arms, "Not now when there is nothing there for me to fear."

"Well, it's just the memories and things that might cause you distress," Mr. Weasley points out. "You have trouble sleeping already. I don't want to make it worse."

"The memories are probably causing Draco distress too!" Danielle declares, "and he's the unfortunate one who has to live there still."

"Alright! Alright!" Mr. Weasley puts his hands up in surrender, "If you're that determined to go than I won't stop you. But at least wait until I get it cleared with Narcissa first."

"Thank you," Danielle nods her head before clearing her throat. "Sorry for getting upset." Tracy lets out a laugh from next to her.

"Apology accepted," Mr. Weasley smiles. "Now, before we got off on that tangent, I was going to tell you both something else. There was a lot of damage, as you know, but it seems that Hogwarts will be back up and functional in time for the new school year in September."

"Really?" Tracy smiles, "That's wonderful! Abby will be able to come back for her third year!"

"McGonagall will be taking place as Headmistress," Mr. Weasley informs them. "And, she's decided to give everyone affected by the war an opportunity to come back and redo this past year."

"You mean, Danielle and I could come back and complete our 7th year?" Tracy gasps and Mr. Weasley nods.

"Wow," Danielle sighs, "That's great of McGonagall to do that. We would have all had a rough time getting jobs without having taken our N.E.W.T exams and graduating."

"Well, you're all war heroes so you would have been able to find something, I'm sure" Mr. Weasley confesses, "Especially you Tracy. Everyone saw the way you fought at Hogwarts. I'm surprised I haven't been told to bring you into the ministry as an auror yet."

"Me?! An Auror?!" Tracy lets out a laugh, "Wow… that's flattering but I really do want to go back and finish my education. I wouldn't feel right if I didn't."

"Same here," Danielle agrees. "We haven't come all this way for nothing."

"I'm glad that you two feel that way," Mr. Weasley tells them before pushing himself off the couch. "It'll set a great example for everyone else, and it'll be a great way to help you move on after everything. I'm sure Ron, Hermione, and Harry will go back as well; if only to avoid being dragged in by the ministry." This causes Danielle and Tracy to smile in amusement. "Well, I better go make sure Molly's alright in the kitchen," He looks over to them knowingly. "We're going to be able to move back into the burrow soon. I'm not sure how that'll be for her. It'll be nice to be home though, I'm sure, which is why I'm working so hard to get you guys cleared to go back to the states. It shouldn't be too long now."

"Thanks for that," Danielle tells him honestly.

"Yes," Tracy agrees, "Thank you for everything."

* * *

Draco stood alone with Danielle in her bedroom at Malfoy Manor. Well, it wasn't really her bedroom anymore. All the girl's things had been packed up before being taken away by Inky to be sent back to the states. The room seemed really odd now without any signs of it being occupied. Draco sighed and looked up at Danielle. She could tell he was trying to hide his uncertainty. This was the first time they had seen each other since the final battle and everything was so different now. They stood together, not because they were being forced to out of desperation and fear, but for another reason; one that they couldn't quite explain or describe yet. It was strange to think that they were just two regular seventeen year old kids now; with the world at their fingertips.

"How's your mother handling everything?" Danielle asks just to break the silence.

"Not well," Draco mutters. "Her whole life had been built around my father, and now he's gone."

"She doesn't know who she is without him," Danielle sighs sadly. That was the problem with pureblood arranged marriages. The women were never given a chance to create an identity for themselves. They were told what to say, and what to do in order to land a husband and then serve him faithfully; that's it. Danielle wasn't going to start lecturing Draco about that now though. It wasn't going to do anything to help his mother. "How are you handling everything?" She says instead.

"My father made sure everything was set for me to take over as head of the household before they locked him up," he replies with little emotion. "His advisors and associates are going to help me overlook his business affairs for now, but soon I should be able to do it by myself." Danielle frowned.

"I meant how you were feeling about your father being gone," She rephrases her question.

"Would you think I was terrible if I said I was glad about it?" Draco lifts an eyebrow.

"No," Danielle says honestly, "But I would wonder if you were lying to me." Draco just shrugs. "Well, I'm glad you and your mom were pardoned, in any case." she says.

"All thanks to Saint Potter," Draco frowns, "Bleeding heart Gryffindors." Danielle can't help but laugh at that. Draco smiles too.

"What about you? Mr. sentimental Slytherin" She asks, "Did you really send Inky to find help for Harry and the others the day they were captured?"

"Maybe," he smirks, "maybe not."

"You're so annoying," Danielle shakes her head in amusement.

"Speaking of annoying," Draco turns serious. "I never got the chance to tell you that Pansy got home safe and sound after the incident with Nott and his father."

"That's … good," Danielle says, although her voice betrayed her true feelings about the topic. She didn't want to think about Theodore Nott or his father. She instinctively looked behind her to make sure her door was closed, and that no deranged killers were standing there.

"We don't have to talk about it," Draco replies quickly. "I just thought you'd be curious."

"That's fine, you're right. Pansy is a pain, but I'm glad she's alright," Danielle says awkwardly. "She was a wreck."

"So were you," Draco says cautiously. "I've never seen you like that." Danielle's face flushes in embarrassment and she tries desperately to think of something to say, but comes up short. "I'm sorry," Draco shakes his head as if he were annoyed with himself, "I shouldn't have mentioned anything about it. I was just worried…"

"I'll be alright," Danielle tells him. "I'm alright now." Draco just stared at her for a moment; clearly trying to decide whether or not he should believe her. She wasn't sure what the final result of his examination of her was though, because when he finally spoke again; he completely changed the subject.

"I have to admit," He says quietly before stepping forward and taking Danielle's left hand into his own. "I wasn't very happy when my father chose to call off our engagement." He took the Malfoy ring on her hand between his fingers then and began fiddling with it. Danielle felt a panic rising up inside her. This is what she'd feared from the beginning; that he would cling to her after everything was over just because she'd been a source of comfort during the war.

"Why?" Danielle asks the question even though she didn't really want to hear the answer.

"Because now you get to leave," was the response, "You won't be mine anymore."

"This ring doesn't define us Draco," Danielle reassures him even though her own mind was reeling with nerves. He still thought she was his; that she could be owned. It reinforced her determination to get him to end this engagement once and for all. "It wasn't the reason I helped you with the cabinet and it isn't the reason I stayed here during the war. The ring wasn't the thing keeping me around."

"You're going to leave as soon as I take it off though," Draco reasons.

"That's because I haven't seen my family in two years," Danielle lets out a sigh. "I haven't been home in two years."

"I just wish you didn't have to go back to the states at all," He frowns and continues to twirl the ring around her finger. "You could just stay here and your parents can come visit you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Danielle finally pulls her hand away from the boy. "I'm only going to be away for a few months. Then I'll be back to redo my seventh year at Hogwarts. McGonagall is letting everyone come back, did you know?"

"Yes, it was in the daily prophet a few days ago. I'm probably going back too. But why do you have to leave for the whole summer?" Draco scrunched up his face, "That seems like such a long time to be away from…"

"Each other?" Danielle smiles and Draco looks annoyed.

"I was going to say away from England," He defends himself.

"Whatever," Danielle waves her hand, "the point is that you'll get to see me again September first. I won't disappear forever just because we aren't engaged anymore. We've decided that we're officially friends now, right? That gives you an excuse to talk and see me once we're back at school."

"Alright," Draco says with an odd look in his eye, "I'll take the ring off as long as you do something for me in exchange."

"What?" Danielle asks cautiously. She hoped he wasn't being serious. When this whole thing started neither of them wanted to be married to each other. They had hated each other with a passion. Now Draco was making Danielle jump through hoops just to get back to normal.

"Go out with me," Draco crosses his arms and lifts his chin. Danielle's face flushes red and she looks down to avoid the intensity of Draco's gaze. In all fairness, she probably should have known to expect something like this from him; she hadn't though, and it completely threw her off guard.

"Oh my gosh," She mumbles, "Draco."

"What?" He asks angrily.

"I can't," she whispers.

"You'd go out with Finnegan, but not me?" Draco snaps. He was still trying to look annoyed but the real feelings were shining through. Her answer had wounded him.

"Seamus wasn't going to ask me out just so I'd have no choice but to talk and hang out with him," Danielle says seriously. "His asking me out wasn't an ultimatum. And honestly Draco, we just survived a war. You've just avoided going to Azkaban! This is the time that everyone, you especially, should be taking advantage of the freedom you've earned. You should take this time to explore things you've never been able to before because of all the pureblood supremacy nonsense you grew up with. Take some time to figure your own self out before complicating things again. I've enjoyed getting to know you Draco, and I'm glad to be your friend, but the truth remains that we've pretty much HAD to forge a closeness due to our circumstances. We can't just jump into a serious relationship without even knowing what will happen now that the war is over. We might be back at each other's throats when we get back to school for all we know. I'm not saying that it isn't something we can't … think about later… but… for now I don't think it's a very good idea."

"Fine," Draco says in monotone. Danielle could tell that he had taken everything she said the wrong way. She didn't stop him though when he grabbed her hand and quickly slid the ring off her finger. She saw a look of pain and loss in his face as he clutched the tiny band in his fist. Danielle sighed at his reaction before pulling her hand back to inspect it. The weight of the rock was gone and it made her smile. She felt like a shackle had been removed instead of a ring. Draco looked uncomfortable with her happiness.

"I guess if you could do it all over you would stay clear of me, huh?" Draco asks looking bitter. Danielle turned her gaze away from her hand.

"I think you know that isn't true," Danielle tells him. "Why do I have to tell you things a million times before they sink in? The engagement had nothing to do with the things I did during the war. I did everything I could to keep you alive because you aren't a bad person, not because you were my fiancé. This may seem crazy, but I've actually come to enjoy your company and I'm glad that we've become friends."

"Oh yeah," Draco rolls his eyes. "I'm sure you really valued the time you spent being belittled and tormented in my home, and the times you were forced to bring me back from the brink of death."

"You know that isn't what I meant," Danielle sighs. "But obviously you agree we got to know each other under some constricting terms. Perhaps after looking at it that way, you can understand why it would be better for us to take things easy for now."

"I don't understand the point of you telling me all of this if you're just going to leave," Draco snaps at her. "If I really had the freedom to do whatever I wanted now I wouldn't be standing here letting you make choices for me!"

"What do you want to do then?" Danielle throws her arms out, "guilt me into dating you? Force me to keep wearing that stupid ring? Or just anything you can to get me to shut up and do whatever you say? Because I won't do that Draco, and if you want someone who will, you're better off with Pansy Parkinson."

"You told me before that once everything was figured out, I'd get to marry the witch of my choice," Draco reminds her. Danielle cringes, knowing that he was right. She had told him that. But at the time, the witch of his choice had not been her; far from it actually. So, Danielle fights off her discomfort at his words and presses on.

"You're only seventeen years old," She tells him. "You don't know what you want, and neither do I. But I know what I don't want. And that's to be engaged and then married to someone in this way."

"In what way WOULD you like to be engaged and then married to someone then?" Draco asks, causing Danielle to feel even more flustered.

"After being friends for a while," she tells him, "and with someone who wants me, not because I'm the best available option, but because I'm the only option that matters."

"What does that even mean?" Draco snaps, "The best available option IS the only option that matters."

"You're wrong," Danielle counters, "But just to prove my point; do you really think that YOU'RE the best available option to me?"

"That's insulting," Draco frowns.

"Wrong again," Danielle states. "I know I'm not the best available option to you; at least by Malfoy standards. I'm not as pretty as Astoria Greengrass, and I'm certainly not as rich as Pansy Parkinson."

"More tolerable though," Draco points out.

"You didn't always think that," Danielle argues, "and I'm not the only one who you'd find tolerable. There are others who'd like the guy behind the Malfoy mask if they could meet him. Trust me."

"What do you want me to say then?" Draco lets out a frustrated growl, "That I don't care about those other people; because I don't."

"I want you to say the truth," Danielle shrugs, "Whatever it is you're really thinking right now."

"You obviously think I'm grasping at straws to find a way to keep you around forcefully," Draco frowns before looking at his feet. "I do value our friendship and I don't want to lose it. I don't want you to feel _forced_ into maintaining it though. Now that the engagement is off you are free to leave and never speak to me again. There is nothing I can do to get you to stay. You've made it pretty clear that you don't care about my blood status, my name, or my money. I used to think that that was all there was to me, and I was okay with that. Now that those things aren't enough though, I'm just hoping that there is something left about me that you _can_ care about."

Danielle felt a swell in her heart at Draco's confession. He had confided in her more than she had expected. It was strange for her to know that Draco had spent so much time trying to convince her that he was superior, and now he was the one who felt like he lacked something. She closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck to pull him into a tight hug. He lightly hugged her back. She could tell he felt nervous about divulging so much information about himself. "There is a lot more to you than you think," she tells him, "and I happen to care about all of it." Draco's arms tightened around her as she spoke. Danielle couldn't believe her ears when she heard him murmur back, "I care about all of you too." She felt him pull back a little from her and their eyes met.

"The summer will go by quickly," Danielle tells him with a smile. "Then we'll both be back at Hogwarts and we can spend as much time together as we'd like. And none of that time will be spent on fixing vanishing cabinets, healing each other's wounds, or fearing for our lives."

"Sounds good to me," Draco says almost shyly. "I still wish you'd stay though."

" It's funny to hear you say that," Danielle confesses then, "You know, one of the first things you ever told me was to go back to the States so I'd stop polluting Hogwarts with my presence."

Draco grimaced, "Yes, well… there must be something a bit more positive from our first encounters that you can remember instead."

Danielle lifts an eyebrow at him, "Well, you did tell Harry during that same conversation that even though my name was tainted, I still out-ranked most of the people at school. I suppose that could be taken as a compliment… in some odd twisted way."

"I'm sorry," Draco looks down at his feet, "I should have never spoken to you like that."

"Don't worry yourself over it," Danielle waves him off, "I'm not bringing all that up to make you feel bad. I just want you to remember that I'm not just the girl with the game boy that stays at your house like a piece of furniture to be used at your leisure. I'm the girl with the divorced parents from the united states, with the little sister who was sorted into Gryffindor; your rival house, and the girl with the best friend who is dating Harry Potter; friend to Weasleys and Muggleborns alike."

"I'm aware," Draco say seriously, "and I'm the boy with the imprisoned death eater father, and the strict aristocratic trophy wife mother. I'm the boy who was sorted into the evil house of Slytherin, and the boy who has all the money in the world yet has only managed to make one measly friend in all his seventeen years of existence."

"Measly?" Danielle raises an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I'm the boy who has only managed to make one TRUE friend in all his seventeen years of existence," Draco corrects with a look of amusement.

"That's better," Danielle replies with grin. "But, I guess I should get back to the Weasley's now."

"Not yet," Draco says, accidently letting the pleading come through his voice. He reaches out instinctively and grabs her wrist.

"Mr. Weasley was worried about me having some sort of anxiety attack from being back at the manor," Danielle recalls, "You're alright here, aren't you?"

"I don't really have a choice, do I?" was the emotionless response, "I live here. And I can't just leave because someone has to be here with my mom, and someone has to stay and overlook by father's interests." Draco was speaking confidently, but Danielle could see he was still uncertain.

"Well, if you're feeling overwhelmed, or need someone to talk to, you know you can write to me," Danielle tells him seriously. "Or you could learn how to use a muggle telephone and just call me. That's faster, but I don't know if you'd be comfortable doing that." Draco just shrugs. "Alright," Danielle switches it up and offers Draco HER arm, "It's time for me to go. Will you walk me down?" The boy gives her a sad smile but links arms with her anyway. Together, they walk down to the entrance hall so that Danielle could leave Malfoy Manor for the last time before finally returning back to the United States; before finally returning home.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's the end of part two! I really hope you guys enjoyed reading it. Out of all three parts, this one is my favorite. But now, we still have part three! Which, I would like to get your guy's opinion. Would you rather me start Part Three as a separate story, or should I just keep adding onto this one. I'm just nervous about this looking so long because of so many chapters. Let me know! And please please please let me know what you thought of part two. I want to know your favorite scenes, and what you are hoping for in part three! I will probably begin putting part three up soon, but i want to wait until i get a little more editing on it done first.**

**And just to reiterate, those of you who have been dying for more intense Danielle/Draco relationship stuff, it all comes out in part three. Now that the war drama is over, the two of them are forced to get to know each other in new ways. I know it seems like it's been taking a while, but I hope you can understand why I wrote it this way. Danielle would do anything to save her friends, or even another innocent person. She's firm in her beliefs of right and wrong, but when it comes to her relationship with Draco she doesn't know what is right. The uncertainty makes her cautious. She isn't sure what her role should be in his life. She is afraid of confusing what he wants, or what she wants, with what they both need. Even though the two of them have been through so much, their is still a little bit of a disconnect between their ways of thinking. In part three, I promise that they both start to understand each other a little more, and begin to compromise to find a happy medium :)  
**


	74. Part Three: Chapter 1

**You guys, I am so excited for you to read part three of this story! It's awesome that you all have stuck around this long. That along with all of your positive feedback has really motivated me to work extra hard on writing, editing, and posting chapters as quickly as possible. Like I said before, I'm going to give you guys longer chapters this time around so I hope you like that :) Get ready for some more adventures with Draco, Danielle, Tracy, and the rest of the gang because the war may be over but the fun is just getting started haha. Anywho... here is the first chapter of part three... ENJOY!**

Part Three: Chapter One

Danielle squeezes her eyes shut, and clenches her teeth to brace herself for the next onslaught of familiar pain that would come from the cruciatus curse. She was curled up on the floor of the Malfoy Manor drawing room with a group of cheering death eaters standing in a circle around her. A few of their faces stood out more than others: Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, Fenrir Greygback, Mr. Nott, and of course Voldemort himself was there.

"Ms. Emmings, you really turned out to be an even bigger disappointment than the Malfoys, didn't you?" The dark lord sneers down at her crumpled form as he slowly walks around her, keeping his wand aimed at her the whole time. "I was startled at first to think they'd actually found someone who might bring some worth back to their name, but it turns out your nothing special after all. CRUCIO!"

Danielle balls her hands into fists and bites down on her lower lip to keep from screaming out. Her teeth puncture through the skin after a second and the taste of blood fills her mouth. It felt like her limbs were being pulled from their sockets, and like someone was driving nails into her skull with a hammer. She began to convulse because the pain was so excruciating. A few tears leaked from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Snape and the Carrows were visible in the crowd now. They were pointing at her, shouting out insults, and howling with laughter.

"You had such potential!" Voldemort shouts as he thrusts his wand forward to intensify his victim's pain, "I thought I could count on you, especially after you fixed that vanishing cabinet so that my death eaters could take over Hogwarts and kill Dumbledore, but I guess I was wrong."

"No!" Danielle cries out bravely, "No! I didn't do that! I didn't kill Dumbledore! Snape did! I would _never _do anything to help you!"

"Silence!" Voldemort shouts as he finally lifts the cruciatus curse. The death eaters around them groan in disappointment when Danielle lets out a sigh of relief. That is, until she catches Greyback staring at her hungrily and licking his lips. Danielle does her best to ignore him as the Dark Lord continues to talk. "You are not worthy of the mark!"

"Mark?" Danielle whispers before slowly glancing down at her left wrist. More tears spring to her eyes as she takes in the black skull and serpent tattooed onto her skin. "What? No! I don't want this!"

"Crucio!" Voldemort jabs his wand towards her again. Danielle's muscles tense up in agony, but she fights through it to look up into the crowd of people around her, searching. "Draco?" She whimpers through her pain, "Where are you?" Painful shocks were now coursing through her nerves causing her to twitch and shiver.

"Draco has gotten as far away from you as possible," Lucius speaks up now, looking sinister. "He wants nothing to do with you after what you did. I thought he'd made that point very clear."

"What?" Danielle is confused until something materializes on the ground next to her. Her heart begins to race, and she begins to hyperventilate once she takes in the dead stare in the eyes of Blaise Zabini, whose body was contorted grotesquely just inches away. "Oh please! No! Not again!" Tears were streaming down her face uncontrollably now, "Draco! Help me!" She can't stop shouting out, "Draco, where are you?!" That's when her vision went black.

"Watch it!" A fraction of a second later everything comes back into focus. Danielle looks around frantically as she realizes she's not in the drawing room at Malfoy Manor, but safe in her bed back in the United States. She turns to look at the doorway only to find she was already aiming her wand in that direction. A fresh black burn mark was smoking on the wall just a few inches away from where her younger sister stood looking shocked.

"What?" Danielle asks breathlessly while still trying to wake up fully, "Blaise… he was… just… what?"

Abby frowns before walking over to sit by the panicked girl's side, "You were having another nightmare." Danielle looks down at her left wrist then to find the pale skin completely unmarked. She lets out a sigh of relief before tucking her wand back under her pillow and rolling over so her back was facing her sister.

"You should stop sleeping with your wand like that," Abby says sternly, "You almost took my head off just now." Danielle did not respond. She was too busy trying to keep her tears in check while also reminding herself that Voldemort and most of his death eater followers were dead. She wasn't in danger anymore. It was hard though, because the pain from her dream had carried over into real life. Her whole body was tingling as if she'd really just experienced the torture curse just moments before. "Aren't you at least going to come down for breakfast?" Abby asks sadly, "Tracy's here and she brought Josh with her."

Danielle groans and buries her face deeper into her pillow before muttering two words, "any mail?" She didn't want to see Tracy, and she definitely didn't want to see Josh.

"No," Was Abby's hesitant reply, "Nothing has come for you." Danielle tenses up even more after that and pulls her blanket over her head. "I'll be down later," She mumbles dismissively. Abby sighs in defeat before getting up and heading back downstairs where her mother was making breakfast.

"She's refusing to come down again, isn't she?" Tracy frowns when she notices her best friend's sister walk into the kitchen alone.

"She was having another nightmare," Abby explains uncomfortably, "She was calling out for Malfoy, and when I walked in she sprang up and shot a hex right at my face."

"It's getting worse," Mrs. Emmings comes over and places a platter of French toast on the table. "I just don't know what to do with her! She seemed to be doing fairly well at the beginning of the summer, but now she's becoming so withdrawn that we can hardly coax her out of her bedroom."

"Danielle's never been one to be so quiet and antisocial," Josh says looking serious.

"If she'd just talk to us about what happened to her over there maybe it would stop haunting her," Mrs. Emmings sits down next to Abby while massaging her temples stressfully. "Maybe we would be able to find a way to help her."

"She won't talk about it at all?" Josh asks, looking worried. Both Mrs. Emmings and Abby shake their head.

"She won't even talk to me," Tracy frowns, "I have no idea what went on with her and Draco at the Manor. I know she spent a lot of time locked up in her bedroom alone, and had to be around the death eaters a lot at meal times, but other than that she hasn't gone into much detail."

"I wish he'd just respond to her letters," Mrs. Emmings lowers her voice then as if her oldest daughter might overhear her. "She's sent him a handful since returning home and he hasn't replied to any of them."

"I still don't get that whole thing," Josh looks around the table curiously, "What changed between her and that guy? I know she pretty much despised him at the time of the whole engagement fiasco, but what happened with them since then?"

"They were forced to spend a lot of time together over the past two years," Tracy tells her brother seriously. "I don't think it's too surprising that they've grown closer, especially since Draco isn't as horrible as we all initially thought. The thing that confuses me is the extent of it. When the two of them were reunited during the final battle, they clung to each other as if their lives depended on it, like they really needed each other."

"I can't even picture Danielle doing that," Josh looks shocked even though he'd heard the story several times already. "She's always been so independent; strong willed and loyal, but never overly affectionate or needy. I can't imagine what those two must have gone through in order for Danielle to form such a strong bond with him."

"Maybe she actually loves him or something," Abby throws the idea out but the others just look at her skeptically.

"Well, I doubt Danielle is holed up in her room right now just because she's love sick or something," Josh states firmly. "We all know she's stronger than that. It must have been hell staying at the Malfoy's during the war for her to be affected so strongly. It all must be finally catching up with her. The fact that this Malfoy guy hasn't gotten in touch with her is probably just making her feel even worse."

"I just hope she's strong enough to overcome this trauma," Mrs. Emmings finally pulls a couple pieces of French toast onto her plate. "I miss my daughter."

* * *

"Look, I know everyone deals with these things in their own way or whatever, but do you really think it's a good idea to go back so soon?" Mr. Emmings was fidgeting nervously as he sits across from his daughter. He usually avoided having such serious conversations if he could, but Danielle had just received a letter that morning from Hogwarts via owl, inviting her to go back and re-do her seventh and final year of school. "You were gone for almost two years! Two! I just want… don't YOU just want to stay home now after everything you've been through?"

"I've been home this whole summer," Danielle tells her dad with a lazy shrug. She had been spending most of her time at her father's house since she'd gotten back from the war because he'd been the only one to get the hint that all she wanted was to be left alone. He wasn't always forcing her to talk or interact with people like her mom, sister, and Tracy seemed to enjoy doing. Apparently that was about to change though, much to Danielle's dismay. "I have to go back in order to complete my schooling," she tells him. "I'm lucky that McGonagall is even giving everyone affected by the war a second chance to graduate."

"I don't care, you aren't ready to go anywhere" was the reply, "I know you're still recovering from everything that happened even though you try not to let anybody see that. If you could just see yourself! You have looked and sounded miserable ever since you've been home."

"Tracy's going back," Danielle says plainly. She knew it was a weak, childish argument, and that her father's description of her was, unfortunately, quite accurate, but she still felt deep down that returning to Hogwarts was what she needed to do. After the final battle, she had thought that things would get better once she was safe and at home with her parents and sister. That isn't what happened though. Her fears had followed her to the states, and gradually intensified in her mind. Even though she knew the dangers were gone, she couldn't help still feeling extremely jumpy and worried all the time. She'd gotten so used to being in a constant state of alert at the Manor, that it was hard to just relax now.

"Tracy didn't spend the war locked up in a house full of murderers and lunatics!" Mr. Emmings raises his voice a little now. He always got upset when talking about this. "You know, I could kick myself for ever going along with that arranged marriage."

"Don't blame yourself or the engagement," Danielle tells him in a bored tone. "Tracy went through just as much during the war as I did."

"She had people with her at Hogwarts though," Mr. Emmings' voice strained, "She had the support of her friends and the teachers. The bad things going on at the school were combated by the hope and positive energy created by the DA. You didn't have that! You were completely alone, surrounded by the enemy, living in constant fear."

"I wasn't _completely_ alone," Danielle protests. She tried not to think about the fact that, in her dreams, she was still surrounded by the enemy and living in constant fear.

"Right, the Malfoy boy" Her father was angry now.

"He was the only one I had at the Manor," Danielle offers, even though she knew her father had plenty of reasons that justified his hatred for Draco, and his family. "I wouldn't have made it through the war if it weren't for him."

"You wouldn't have even been at the Manor or in the war in the first place if it weren't for him either," Was the irritated response. "Have you forgotten that his family tricked us? Your mom lost everything! And I had to forge a business relationship with his death eater father!"

"His death eater father is in prison now Dad," Danielle frowns, "And after the engagement was broken off, Narcissa refunded the rest of the money for that mansion and gave mom our old house back."

"It doesn't change the fact that you're still plagued by nightmares every night and sleeping with your wand under your pillow," The man lets out a sigh. "You know that isn't safe, or healthy. My outgoing, bold, lively daughter has been replaced by a reclusive, depressed zombie!"

"I understand why you're concerned," Danielle finally admits. All the talking was wearing her out so she wanted to bring this conversation to a close, "But I have to go back. After everything I went through over there, I just need to see the results of our victory. I want to see for myself that all the danger is gone. I think that will help."

"I don't want two years to go by before I see you again," Mr. Emmings tells his daughter then. "You can just stay here, you know, and help me run the apothecaries." Danielle lets out a weak laugh.

"I don't want to _sell_ medicine dad," she says, "I want to_ practice_ it. I want to be a healer. And in order for me to do that, I need to return to Hogwarts and take my N.E.W.T exams. I may have been reduced to a reclusive, depressed zombie, but I still have ambitions."

"I'm just worried about you though" Mr. Emmings says looking embarrassed. "I don't even know what happened to you over there and I really don't want you getting any worse."

"I understand," Danielle nods slowly, carefully avoiding his statement about not knowing what had happened to her during the past two years. She didn't want her parents knowing the details of what she'd been through. She wanted to protect them from that. "I know what I can and cannot handle," She goes on, "If things get to be too much while I'm over there, I promise I'll come back home."

"That'd make me feel better if I knew you were telling the truth," Her dad gives her a knowing look. "I know how you are though. You'll push yourself to your breaking point and then beyond before admitting defeat."

"Well, I suppose that just explains my need to go back even more, doesn't it?" Danielle asks; trying to sound lighthearted. Mr. Emmings lets out a sigh and stands up.

"I want weekly updates while you're gone," He tells her with fake strictness, "and the next time someone wants to marry you; they better pay ME."

* * *

"Thank you for inviting me over for dinner, Mrs. Emmings" Tracy looks to her best friend's mother appreciatively as she helps herself to a bowl of stuffed cabbage.

"No problem," The woman replies kindly, "I wanted to do something special for you girls before you had to go back off to school again."

"You're taking our decision to go back better than _my_ mother is," Tracy replies conversationally before looking over at Danielle. It was the first time she'd come down to eat dinner with them in weeks. "You know she's still upset that we've chosen to return to Hogwarts."

"My dad isn't too happy about it either," Danielle replies absentmindedly while poking her food instead of eating it. "I went and saw him after my letter came and he got all freaked out about it."

"I don't see what the big deal is though," Abby looks up from her plate. "All the bad people are gone now."

"I understand why they're worried," Mrs. Emmings says, "But going back to school and having a routine will give you all some normalcy after surviving the war. Plus, it isn't like you three will be the only ones recovering; everyone over there has suffered. It might help you heal to be back at Hogwarts; where everyone is going through the same thing together."

"Yeah, I think I'll feel much better once I'm back around the others from the DA" Tracy agrees. "It'll be nice to see them all again, to know that they're alright and that Hogwarts is back to normal."

"I can't wait to see Ron and Harry!" Abby adds excitedly, "I always feel safe with them around."

"Have you gotten any more letters from them?" Mrs. Emmings smiles over at her youngest daughter.

"Yeah! Ron wrote me just this morning," the girl announces. Nobody notices Danielle's grip tighten around her fork. Once again, she hadn't received a letter. "He told me that Harry has been staying with him at the burrow for the past couple weeks, and that they're putting together a practice schedule for when Quidditch starts!"

"Wow," Tracy frowns, "Harry didn't even tell ME that he was going to stay at the Weasley's yet. He just complains about the new minister of magic, Tiberius McLaggen, in all his letters to me."

"What's wrong with the new minister?" Mrs. Emmings asks curiously, "Are they still trying to pressure Harry into being the face of the new ministry? I don't understand why they don't just leave the poor guy alone. Hasn't he been through enough?"

"He won the war," Tracy says as an explanation, "He killed Voldemort. He's the wizarding world's hero which gives him a lot of influence over the public; influence that the ministry wants to control. They don't want Harry saying or doing anything that contradicts what they're trying to do over there; that's why they want Harry to join the ministry so badly; it forces them all to be on the same team so to speak. "

"That poor boy," Mrs. Emmings frowns, "He may be a hero, but he's still just a kid. He doesn't need all of this right now. He just needs to rest."

"Hopefully it'll be better once we're back at Hogwarts," Danielle sighs, deciding that it wouldn't hurt to join the conversation for a second. "It'll be harder for the ministry and the press to reach him in there."

"Is Draco going back?" Abby suddenly asks before clasping her hand over her mouth. Mrs. Emmings and Tracy turn quickly to Danielle, looking nervous about how she'd react. The girl just takes a deep breath before answering.

"He said he might the last time I saw him," She says calmly; although there were bitter undertones in her voice. Abby looked like she regretted bringing anything up at all just from the look on her sister's face. Mrs. Emmings seemed worried that her oldest daughter may explode in anger at any second.

"I still can't believe he hasn't sent you anything this whole summer," Tracy approaches the topic carefully.

"Why would he?" Danielle asks darkly, "He has no obligation to me anymore." Tracy and Mrs. Emmings exchange sympathetic glances. "What?" Danielle asks irritably. She hated when those two did that; like she couldn't see them or something.

"You have no more of an obligation to him than he has to you," Tracy says, "Yet you've sent him plenty of letters." Danielle's face flushed in anger and embarrassment. She wished she could go up to her room to be alone now.

"Perhaps he's just been too busy with taking over his family's business and everything," Mrs. Emmings suggests.

"Don't make excuses for him, mom" Danielle states firmly. "I don't care how busy he is. He could have written back if he wanted."

"I'm sorry…" Mrs. Emmings begins but Danielle cuts her off.

"Don't be," She says. "Like I just mentioned, he has no obligation to write or check in with me."

"But after everything you did for him…" Tracy starts but, once again, Danielle interrupts.

"Those were my choices," she says, "not his. He didn't ask for my help." The subject was dropped after that.

* * *

"Draco! No!" Danielle gasps as she springs out of bed in terror. She looks around her room with wide eyes for a second before dropping to the floor and reaching under her bed. She grips onto the handle of her school trunk and heaves it out into the middle of the room. She wastes no time if flinging the top open and pulling out her cauldron and a few random jars and vials.

"Lemon balm, passion flower, holy basil" She lists off the ingredients before growling, "NO! This can't be happening! Where's the Valerian Root?" Her whole body freezes then at the sound of a knock on the door. She reaches back and snatches her wand from under her pillow as the door slowly opens.

"Danielle? It's me, Josh, I'm coming in."

"Josh?" Danielle is shocked to see Tracy's older brother poke his head inside. Josh is shocked to find a wand pointed in his face. Danielle looks around her room and lets out a groan as realization dawns on her. She lowers her wand and covers her face in embarrassment.

"Are you alright?" Josh asks hesitantly, "I heard you shout and thought I'd come see if everything was okay."

"I just… woke up from a dream," Danielle mutters without meeting the older boy's eyes, "a nightmare." She was getting really sick of these waking nightmares. They seemed so real that sometimes it took her a moment to even realize she'd woken up after they were over.

"Why are you on the ground then?" Josh questions her suspiciously, "What's with all the potions stuff?"

"Calming draught," was the distant reply, "I was going to make a calming draught."

"For who?" Josh raises an eyebrow challengingly. Danielle frowns at his tenacity. This is why she'd been avoiding the guy all summer. Her mother and Abby tried to get her to talk sometimes, but they were cautious around her, and backed off quickly whenever Danielle got upset. Her father avoided talking to her about the war almost completely. Tracy was a little pushier, but nothing compared to her brother. Josh was a very straight forward, no nonsense kind of person. He had no problem giving someone a kick in the rear if they needed it. Normally, Danielle respected him a lot for his tough love, but right now it was just annoying her.

"What do you mean, for who?" she asks evasively, "I'm the only one in here, aren't I?"

"What were you dreaming about?" Josh demands then. Danielle clenches her teeth and looks down.

"What are you even doing here?" She tries to change the subject.

"Your mother invited Tracy and I over for dinner," He explains with a shrug.

"A bit early for dinner, isn't it?" Danielle asks.

"Its half past five in the afternoon," Josh states before kneeling down to help her start putting her potions things away. "Have you been sleeping all day?" Danielle feels another wave of embarrassment hit her then and refuses to answer the question. She hated looking so pathetic in front of someone.

"Don't tell my mom about this, alright?" She asks after a minute as she shoves her trunk back under her bed. "I don't need her getting all upset or anything."

"Are you going to tell me what you were dreaming about?" Josh asks again.

"You don't need to hear about that," She tells him honestly.

"Maybe not," Josh gives her a pointed look, "But you need to talk about it."

"What is there to talk about?" Danielle fidgets with her wand, "People lived, people died, people fought, people killed, people were tortured, people did whatever they could to survive. Typical war stuff that I'm sure Tracy has told you about."

"Were you tortured?" Danielle tenses up at the question.

"I feel like you already know the answer to that," she sends a glare over at the boy. "Let's go down to dinner now."

"Not until you tell me what you were dreaming about," Josh folds his arms sternly. Danielle lets out a shaky sigh and wrings her hands together. She had to tell him something or they were going to be standing there all night.

"Just, something that happened at the manor," She mutters without meeting Josh's eyes. "He came back and he was… well… there was a lot of blood… I had to… he was in shock." Danielle clenches her teeth then and violently wipes a few tears that had sprung to her eyes. "They were monsters… all of them…"

"The calming draught was for that Draco kid," Josh makes the connection and Danielle just nods. "He's important to you."

"He was," Danielle sighs.

"I think he still is," Josh was quick to reply.

"I don't have time for someone who doesn't have time for me," was the stubborn response.

"You put a lot of time in for him during the war though, right?" Josh asks. Danielle just eyes him cautiously so he continues, "I know you were sort of forced to stay at his house last summer, but you made the best of it. I know you did because if you had tried to escape you would have either succeeded or you would be dead right now." Danielle just shrugs, and Josh smiles a little. "And I know that you chose to go back to Malfoy Manor after returning to Hogwarts for a little while. You could have stayed at the school with my sister and Abby but you didn't." Danielle stays silent a while longer before finally speaking.

"So?" She asks.

"So," Josh quirks an eyebrow at her, "Was it all worth it?"

"Draco is alive, isn't he?" Danielle throws up her arms in frustration. She was so sick of this conversation. "And he isn't rotting away in Azkaban like his father. I'd say that's mission accomplished, wouldn't you?"

"You don't look very satisfied though," Josh points out, "I think you were expecting more from him than just staying alive and staying out of prison."

"It doesn't matter what I expected," Danielle narrows her eyes in anger now. "All that matters is that I didn't fail him, or Dumbledore."

"They both failed you a little bit though, didn't they?" Josh pushes, "Draco was supposed to be your friend yet he hasn't talked to you in months, and Dumbledore said he'd keep Draco from fighting with the death eaters and he was unable to do that."

"Well, maybe it's my fault for setting the bar too high," Danielle sighs, "There's nothing I can do about it now."

"You can't do anything about Dumbledore," Josh admits, "But there's still time to confront Draco." Danielle sends a glare at him and he laughs. "All I'm saying is that, for you, the war revolved around Draco, and I think maybe your healing has to revolve around him as well."

"What am I supposed to do?" Danielle mutters feeling like Josh had a little more insight to her feelings than she liked. "Draco won't even talk to me."

"You need to do whatever you need to in order to feel better," Josh states firmly, "even if that means leaving your comfort zone."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Danielle puffs up in irritation and Josh lets out another laugh.

"It means that I know you like being self sufficient, and that you don't like opening up emotionally to other people," He explains. "I'm trying to tell you that you might have to break a few of your own rules in order to get out of this funk that you're in."

"That sounds terrifying," Danielle actually cracks a smile, much to Josh's happiness.

"Well, it's the best advice I've got," was the reply.

"So, the best advice possible then?" Danielle teases, and Josh rolls his eyes. He was used to the girl over exaggerating his wisdom and intelligence.

"I think you're getting back to your old self already," He tells her.

"And you never stopped being your old self at all," Danielle finally succeeds in changing the subject, "I heard that Nimbus is trying to recruit you into designing a new broomstick for the upcoming Quidditch season."

"Yeah, well," Josh lets out a sigh, "They've been trying to get me to switch to their company in all sorts of ways the past few years. They've offered me higher pay, more prestigious titles, and much more."

"They're the biggest broom company in the world," Danielle looks to her friend curiously, "why don't you take the job?"

"The Malfoys were the richest and most well known family in Europe," Josh gives the girl a knowing look, "So, why didn't you want to marry their son?"

"I see where you're going with this," Danielle smiles a little.

"It's not about the money, or the name of the company," Josh explains. "It's the fact that everything over there is run in some way by the ministry, and England hasn't had a stable government in decades."

"Fair point," Danielle nods her head in understanding, "Quality, not quantity." Josh nods his head.

"Right," he says, "Now let's go down to dinner. I'm starved!"

* * *

**A/N: So, i'm anxious to find out what your initial thoughts and feelings are for part three?! My goal is to get more reviews after each chapter for the final segment of this story. When you guys share your opinions with me it gives me some motivation to write and post more which means all reviews are appreciated. My goal as a writer, is to entertain my readers by eliciting emotions from them through my words. You guys telling me that a part shocked you, made you sad, happy or angry makes me so happy because it means I've met my goal! When you say nothing I'm not sure if i'm actually doing my job haha, so let me know!**


	75. Part Three: Chapter 2

**A/N: Just wanted to say thank you for all the positive feedback after the first chapter of part three. And to the one guest who mentioned they were losing interest in the story, I'm sorry that you feel that way. I hope you give me one more chance though because I think things begin to get interesting in this chapter. **

Part Three: Chapter Two

"Do you think we made the right choice?" Tracy looks over at Danielle as they both stand in front of the train so famously called the Hogwarts Express. It was the train every Hogwarts student had to take in order to get to and from the magical school every year.

"What?" Danielle was startled by her friend's question. "Are you having second thoughts?"

"No," Tracy smiles, "I was just quoting you. You asked me that very same question the first time we were about to board the train two years ago."

"Oh…" Danielle sighs, "I guess I was just as nervous then as I am now, because to be honest, I don't know if we've made the right choice by coming back." Tracy frowns at her best friend's sullen behavior. She wasn't used to Danielle being so somber and gloomy like she had been all summer. She was usually more lively and loud. Tracy really hoped that being back at Hogwarts would have a positive influence on the girl.

"Come on," Abby skips up to join them now looking extremely excited, "I want to go find the others!"

"Alright," Tracy nods. She was pretty anxious to find Harry, as well. "Let's go." The three girls dropped their luggage off to be loaded before climbing onto the train and searching for a compartment to sit in.

"Harry!" Tracy cheers when she spots her boyfriend occupying one near the back with two of their friends; Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Tracy!" the boy grins and jumps out of his seat to greet the girl; showering her with kisses and hugs. "I missed you so much!" Ron had stood up as well to embrace Abby who was overjoyed to be back with her Gryffindor comrades after being stuck with Ravenclaws all summer. Danielle just awkwardly moved past them to sit across from Hermione. She'd never been as close with the golden trio as Tracy and her sister.

"Are you alright?" The bushy haired girl asks, immediately noticing how quiet the normally outspoken girl was. Danielle smiles a little even though she felt suffocated by the question. She'd heard it so many times since the end of the war.

"It's been a long summer," She admits awkwardly, "how are you?"

"I'm glad to be going back to Hogwarts," She says as Abby, Ron, Tracy, and Harry finally settle into the seats around them. "I'm glad to be back around everyone. It was weird not having anything or anyone to worry about over the summer. I had difficulty at first trying to transition into a normal, boring summer after being constantly in danger for so long." Danielle nodded in agreement. Going from being locked up in a mansion full of death eaters, to being back home with her family had been a shocking and uncomfortable change. She hadn't felt bored over the summer like Hermione though. She had felt overcrowded by Tracy and her family. She was starting to feel even more overcrowded now.

"Danielle!" Ron suddenly smiles over and grabs onto the girl's left hand, "I've just noticed! Your engagement ring's gone!" It was at that awkward moment that their compartment door slid open to reveal Draco Malfoy. Danielle pulls her hand away from Ron and feels herself involuntarily let out a sigh of relief at seeing her ex – fiancé. It was like she'd been waiting to see him this whole time. There was an overwhelming urge to get up and hug him, but she resisted. Instead, she eyed him cautiously; taking in his less than healthy appearance. The summer had not been kind to him; that much was painfully obvious. Even though he was dressed in his usual expensive black dress clothes, he still looked tired and frail. His face was emotionless, but his eyes were swimming with months of unknown troubles.

"Hello, Malfoy" Harry is surprisingly the one to break the silence. Draco turned his gaze, which had previously been trained on Danielle, to look at Harry. The tension in the compartment was great. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been enemies with Draco since the moment they all met at Hogwarts eight years prior. Draco's parents had served the evil man that had killed Harry's parents when he was just a baby. He'd been raised to hate people who were born to non-magical parents, like Hermione. And he had been taught that anyone who did come from a magical background that didn't believe in pureblood supremacy, like Ron, was a blood traitor. It didn't help that Draco had been sorted into Slytherin house upon coming to Hogwarts, while his three enemies had been sorted into Gryffindor; Slytherin's rival. The four had spent the better part of a decade bullying and tormenting each other.

"Potter," Draco nods his head, before looking back at his previous target. It was a rather civil greeting, considering the history there. And it was probably incredibly weird for Draco, since Harry had saved his life during the final battle of the war that had taken place at Hogwarts. How do you treat your childhood nemesis after something like that?

"Draco," Danielle says awkwardly just to acknowledge his stare, "Hi." The blonde frowned. The background of their relationship was significantly shorter, but incredibly less hostile. They had hated each other at first, but were forced to learn to get along after constantly being put into difficult situations together. First they'd been assigned as partners in their potions class. That hadn't been so bad, until then they found out that they were also arranged to be married. And finally, Danielle found out that Draco had been unwillingly offered up to Voldemort, and branded as a death eater by his parents. After that, they had spent the duration of the war together; Danielle doing everything she could to keep Draco safe, and alive. The mark on his arm made him an enemy to Harry and everyone fighting to destroy Voldemort. And his reluctance to kill and serve a psychotic racist made him an outsider to his parents and the other death eaters. In many ways, Danielle had been his only ally during the war. Because of this, Danielle had feared Draco would become overly possessive of her once everything was over; as she was the only true friend he'd ever made. He hadn't disappointed. When Danielle tried to leave to go home after Harry had killed Voldemort, Draco had hesitated to break off the engagement and even tried to ask her out just to get her to stay with him. Evidently, their time together had unknowingly affected her in a similar, but less extreme way; because suddenly, four months seemed like way too long to have been away from him. She wouldn't lower herself into begging for his friendship though. Draco had pleaded with her to stay, but after she'd left, he'd neglected to keep contact with her; even after she'd sent him several letters asking how he was, and what he was up to.

"Did you need a place to sit?" Ron tries to break the weird strained quiet now. Draco looks away from Danielle again.

"Thanks for the offer Weasley," He says, "But I think I might find somewhere a little less crowded." He then looks back to Danielle for a moment. "I'll see you later then," He says it directly to her before turning and leaving the compartment. Danielle lets out another sigh before looking down at her lap. She had so many conflicting feelings. She wanted desperately to talk to him, but didn't want to look like the weak one by running to him after his failure to keep in touch with her over the summer.

"I think he may have wanted to talk to you alone, Danielle," Hermione says quietly.

"I know what he wanted," was the reply.

"Are you guys fighting or something?" Ron asks curiously.

"We aren't anything," Danielle looks up at Ron determinedly. She knew that they were trying to be nice to her by greeting Draco and inviting him to join them. And she knew that they trusted her when she told them that Draco was not as bad as he seemed. But what they didn't know was everything about what she and Draco had gone through during the war. They didn't know how close they had gotten in their struggles to stay alive, and they didn't know about the confusing way in which the two of them had parted ways at the beginning of the summer. "The war is over," Danielle goes on, "the engagement is off. So, we're done being… anything… I guess."

"You guess?" Harry quirks an eyebrow.

"No," Danielle corrects, "I know… or he knows rather. Well, it seems that he can't make up his mind actually, since he came in here just now. But still, he can't expect me to just abandon all of you to cater to him whenever the need arises. He can't rely on me in that way. He's perfectly capable of meeting and making new friends without me."

"Sure, but you can't just alienate him either, can you?" Ron speaks up which shocks everyone. He looked annoyed at their disbelieving faces. "What? Did you see the way Malfoy looked just now? He's got a lot more pressing matters than making friends on his mind. And all of us still have each other to lean on for support. Who does Malfoy have, really? He never had any real friends to start with, but now he doesn't even have the comfort of having the other pureblooded Slytherins that he used to surround himself with. Blaise is dead, Crabbe is dead, Theo was sent to some correctional facility, and most of the other Slytherins won't come back even if they could. Most, if not all, of them were on the losing side of the war. They aren't going to come back to school with the people who killed or sent their death eater parents to Azkaban."

"I never thought about all that," Hermione speaks up then. "It must be difficult for him to come back to Hogwarts. For all the reasons Ron just mentioned and because everyone knows by now that Malfoy was the one who let the death eaters into the school the night Dumbledore died. And it was all over the Prophet when they sent his dad to Azkaban. He isn't going to receive a very warm welcome from the other students." Danielle felt guilty then for being so cold to Draco. But he had been cold to her too, hadn't he? And since when did her Gryffindor friends take Draco's side and defend him anyway? Now Danielle was annoyed with them too. She was glad to see them, but she was sick of being around them already. They're cheerful and upbeat attitudes were making her feel uneasy. She wished Draco would have stayed in the compartment with her, even though she was feeling hesitant about him. She had felt more relaxed in the short time Draco had stood in the doorway than she had all summer. Maybe Josh had been right to say that Draco was the key to Danielle's peace of mind.

* * *

"Man! I forgot how great the food at Hogwarts was!" Abby smiles as she piles food onto her plate after the sorting was over. McGonagall had just given a speech about this year being a new beginning. Voldemort was dead and she hoped that old prejudices and rivalries had gone with him. She encouraged inter-house unity which Danielle and Tracy took advantage of right away. Even though they were both Ravenclaws, they were back sitting at the Gryffindor table with the golden trio and Abby just like the good old days. Everything seemed like it was back to normal, aside from the practically empty Slytherin table.

"You're a girl after my own heart!" Ron beams down at the thirteen year old girl as he also helps himself to seconds. Danielle was not hearing anything her friend's were saying though. She was currently staring wide eyed around the room, remembering how it had looked just four short months ago. The four house tables had been pushed to the walls, and the floor had been lined with everyone who had lost their lives during the final battle.

"Did they give you your position as Quidditch captain back this year, Harry?" Neville, one of the other returning seventh year students who had fought with the DA during the war asks.

"Yeah," Harry nods with a grin, "And I have a feeling we're going to have a great team this year." He then tilts his head over toward Abby, "She's finally old enough to try out for the team."

"She'll make it," Ginny, Ron's little sister leans over and nudges Abby. "We'll both be chasers."

"I hope so!" Abby says seriously, "I haven't practiced in a long time though because there was no Quidditch last year. And I don't have a broom so I couldn't practice over the summer."

"That's fine," Ron tells her, "We're all a little out of practice because of the war. That's why Harry and I are going to be having the team train extra hard before the season actually starts. You'll be on point in no time." Danielle feels her chest tighten as she looks over to the corner where she remembered crouching over the lifeless body of Blaise Zabini, the Slytherin boy that she'd formed a friendship with before he'd been murdered for trying to save her life. Then she looked over to the Ravenclaw table. Last year, she'd stood up on the top of it to distract the death eaters in the school so that Tracy and the other members of the DA could break into the headmaster's office to steal the sword of Gryffindor. She half expected to see the Carrow siblings appear to start dolling out punishments for the students being too loud, or sitting at the wrong tables. Memories of the war were everywhere, and it was overwhelming. Couldn't anybody else still see it all like she could?

"Danielle!" an Irish accent broke through her thoughts and she snapped her head over to meet the eyes of Seamus Finnegan. His smile faded when he noticed how heavily she was breathing. "Are you alright?" He asked. No, she wanted to say, I'm not alright, and you shouldn't be either! Her mind flooded with images of the boy in front of her contorting on the dirty floor of Amycus Carrow's classroom as punishment for standing up the death eater. She remembered healing Seamus, and bringing him back from the nightmarish effects of the torture curse. It was all too much.

"I've decided to take only eight N.E.W.T level courses instead of nine," Hermione's voice filtered into Danielle's brain now. "You only need to pass five in order to be an Auror, so I shouldn't need much more than that to get a position in the mistreatment of magical creatures department at the ministry. I really do think it's about time we start pushing for equal rights for Goblins. I mean, we give them jobs and trust them with keeping our banks safe. Why shouldn't they be allowed to carry wands?"

"Eight N.E. ?!" Neville gasps, "I'm only taking three!"

"You shouldn't be so surprised, Neville" Abby laughs, "This is Hermione we're talking about!"

"Danielle," Seamus was still trying to get her attention. She turns and looks at him. He raises his eyebrows and points to her hand, "You aren't engaged to Malfoy anymore?"

"No," She answers, "I mean yes… uh, yes I'm not engaged to him anymore."

"Well, there is no way I'll pass the transfiguration exam" Ron mumbles to Harry, "I'll probably just end up working with George at the joke shop after graduation. You know he's been having trouble doing everything now that Fred's gone."

"I think you'll be fine Ron, honestly," Tracy smiles encouragingly at the red headed boy. "I can help you with transfiguration, and I think Charms, Potions, and defense against the dark arts won't be so bad as long as you put in the work. That just leaves one elective. You chose muggle studies it seems. That shouldn't be too hard."

"Harry's taking all the same classes as you anyway," Hermione points out sternly, "So you two will be going through it together."

"How many N.E. are you taking, Tracy?" Ginny asks the Ravenclaw girl curiously.

"Five," was the answer, "I think I'll probably try to get a ministry job as well. I don't want to be an Auror really, but perhaps it might be nice to work in the department of magical law enforcement."

"What about you Danielle?" Neville asks, "How many N.E. are you taking?"

"Six," Danielle says distractedly.

"You only signed up for five last year," Tracy recalls then, "Which class did you add?"

"Transfiguration," is the reply. "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"But the feast isn't over," Seamus points out. Danielle was already standing up though, causing people all around the great hall to turn and look at her.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Tracy asks her friend in concern.

"No, that's fine. I'll see you back in the common room," Danielle waves her hand before strolling out of the great hall. She knew it was a bit rude to get up and leave in the middle of the welcoming feast, but none of the professors tried to stop her. Danielle was glad for that, because she couldn't take being around everyone for one more moment. She needed to be alone. She needed to get away from all the reminders.

* * *

It was nice walking around the castle while everyone was in the great hall. Nobody was around, so Danielle finally had the solitude that she craved. She hoped her friends would forgive her for being sort of withdrawn. It was just that Danielle had a lot going on in her head right now, and needed time to work it all out. Coming back to Howarts seemed to be more overwhelming than she initially thought. She needed to find some way to comfort herself, some way to relax.

"I was wondering if you'd come here." Danielle looks up and sees Draco leaning up against the wall with his left shoulder and staring intently at her. She was confused for a moment before realizing where she was. She had unconsciously made her way to the room of requirement.

"I was just passing by," She tells the blonde a little harshly. He lets out a sigh, looking extremely tired. Danielle desperately wanted to ask him what was wrong, but held her tongue. She didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing she'd wasted time worrying about him even after he'd made it pretty clear that he hadn't given her a second thought after she left. "Besides, we can't go in there" Danielle folds her arms, "The fiend fire…" A dark look crossed Draco's face then at the reminder. The room of requirement had supposedly been destroyed during the final battle by a cursed fire that had also been responsible for taking the life of one of Draco's Slytherin classmates.

"I thought that too," he finally speaks up and gestures to the wall where a door was starting to materialize, "but clearly Hogwarts is tougher than we thought." He leans forward and pulls the door open before motioning for her to go inside. Danielle hesitates a moment because she was feeling unsure of his intentions. He went the whole summer without talking to her, and now he was acting all friendly to her; as if he hadn't hurt her feelings at all. She ended up going in though. She loved the room of requirement and was curious to see what form it would take this time. Also, she hoped to find out what had Draco looking so unwell.

Danielle was surprised to find that the room was a lot smaller than she'd ever seen it. It was also extremely simple. There was a single couch, with two plushy chairs on either side of it, all angled in toward a fireplace that was giving off a comfortable warmth. She walked over and plopped down onto the couch. Draco followed her in, but kept his distance and remained standing. He was unsure of her as well, it seemed, because his face was struggling between staying blank and letting his feelings show.

"You're angry with me," he finally mumbles after a few minutes. Danielle had to bite back the rush of emotion that suddenly enveloped her. She was angry alright, but not just at Draco. She was angry with herself for being so happy to see him, and feeling worried about him when he had ignored her letters all summer. She was also mad at herself for expecting too much from him. During the war, Draco had been all she had. When they were together, those had been the best times because it had meant they were both alive, that Draco wasn't out on a dangerous mission given to him by Voldemort, and that she wasn't alone. She'd spent most of the past two years with only Draco as company. So, after going back to the states, it had been hard for Danielle to adjust to his absence; harder than she had expected. She had missed him, terribly. She would never admit that it had hurt her feelings to think he hadn't felt the same though. But did he feel the same? It seemed like it now, judging by the familiar pleading look in his blue eyes.

"I didn't think it would be this hard to be back here," Danielle decides to ignore his previous statement.

"Well that's a convoluted thing to say," Draco sighs before moving closer to stand behind one of the plushy chairs and grip the back of it. "I'm not sure how to interpret it. It's hard to be back at Hogwarts, of course; even worse to stand here in the room of requirement, at least for me. I can still picture the look on Crabbe's face when he fell into the fire. But perhaps you mean that it is hard for you to be back here; alone with me." Danielle curses herself for being too obvious, but then wonders if that was even the issue, maybe Draco just knew her a little too well. The thought unnerved her. Josh's advice was swimming back and forth in her mind, but opening up seemed so much more difficult now that Draco was right in front of her.

"How was your summer?" Danielle changes the subject. She knew it was a cowardly thing to do, but she felt like she had to play it safe now or Draco might see how vulnerable she was actually feeling. The tired looking boy let out a sarcastic laugh that sounded more like a sob as he held out his arms.

"Look at me;" He tells her sadly, "I think it's obvious that my summer was dismal at best."

"If you were so miserable, why didn't you write to me?" Danielle frowns, "I told you that you could."

"And, I told you that you could stay at the manor," Draco replies, "But you didn't."

"Don't turn this around on me!" Danielle states firmly.

"Why not? You just did the same thing to me just now!" was the annoyed reply, "You're upset because I didn't answer any of your letters. That's fine. I knew you would be. But I had a reason, just as you had a reason for returning back to the States after the war."

"I needed to see my family!" Danielle argues, "I told you that!"

"Ok," Draco huffs, "And I needed to try and move on with my life as well." Danielle was so angry with these words that she forgot to censor herself to keep her feelings hidden.

"Move on with your life?!" she snaps, "We were still friends! I was WORRIED about you Draco!" Draco looked taken aback by her sudden outburst but recovered quickly.

"Yes, I know" He says calmly, "Which is why I didn't write. I had nothing to say that would have made you feel any better. I knew you were reconnecting with your family, and I didn't want to spoil it with all my problems." This confession shocked Danielle into silence. Had he really been trying to protect her again? "Also," Draco goes on, "I'm eighteen years old for crying out loud. I wanted to at least _try_ and put myself back together after the war without anyone else's help. But, as you can see, that plan clearly backfired." Draco was trying to seem in control of himself, but Danielle could hear the wavering of his voice, and see his white knuckles gripping onto the back of the chair. He had tried to put himself together, but had only managed to barely keep himself from falling apart. Danielle knew the feeling well, and now her anger was quickly dissolving.

"Draco…" her voice was now laced with concern. All her issues about being vulnerable were taking a back burner to make room for her worry for the boy in front of her. She hated seeing him so broken. He wasn't supposed to suffer in this way. That was the reason she'd helped him after finding out he'd been recruited as a death eater in the first place. Also, if Danielle was being honest, fussing over Draco distracted her from her own looming fears and depression.

"Do you still have the nightmares?" His voice comes out strained and Danielle's chest tightens with sadness at the sound of his agony. She nods her head quickly to answer his question. "Me too," he replies softly before looking down. "Crabbe in the fire, watching a child being slaughtered, having to torture another person, having to _kill_ another person," tears had sprung up in Draco's eyes now as he recited the horrors he was still living with. "And his eyes," he continued, "The dark lord's blood red eyes."

"I dream of his eyes too," Danielle admits in a whisper, "And Greyback's predatory rotten toothed grin. And Blaise…" Her throat constricts at the thought of the boy. Danielle wasn't sure if she'd ever shake the guilt. But Draco was inching closer to her now, apparently feeling more comfortable after seeing that Danielle wasn't angry anymore.

"Why did you leave?" He asks her desperately and Danielle could see him shaking a little in his effort to keep from sobbing, "I told you not to leave." Danielle hardly knew how to respond, especially since she was trying to hold back her own tidal wave of emotion.

"I'm sorry, Draco," She mumbles. "I'm so sorry." She pushes herself off the couch; knowing that this was the time for them to hug. They'd always been able to comfort and convey their emotions to each other better through an embrace rather than through words. They were both too stubborn to ever open up about their feelings completely, and for some reason a hug just seemed so much easier. Draco closed the distance between them quickly; meeting Danielle halfway.

"I missed you," He says and before Danielle can even respond, Draco pulls her into his arms and presses his lips firmly against her own. For a second, everything stops; the sadness, the worry, the fear, every horrible, negative thing that had been consuming Danielle's thoughts for so long just dissolves into thin air. Her body freezes in complete shock. Any thought of pulling away was overshadowed by the miracle of feeling something other than the aching misery she'd put up with the entire summer. She allows her mind to go completely blank just to make room for all the new little sensory experiences occurring to her in that moment. Draco's lips moving softly, yet determinedly against her own, his right hand on the back of her neck holding her in place, his left hand resting on the small of her back, the scent of his cologne filling her nose, the warmth coming from the fireplace, the wet tears on Draco's cheeks… her brain was pulling as much in as possible to fill the space that had been previously occupied by memories of war, carnage, and anxiety. Danielle tightens her arms around him without even meaning too. She just decides to start kissing him back when a nagging voice comes from the dark recesses of her mind to tell her to stop, to tell her that what she was doing wasn't right. Kissing was an activity reserved for couples, for people who loved each other. And Danielle could not lie to herself; she felt emotion in Draco's kiss, but it wasn't love. It was desperation and pain; the same things she had been trying to forget. All the reasons for why she had denied starting up a romantic relationship with Draco at the beginning of the summer suddenly come rushing back, and Danielle brings her hands up to push Draco away gently. He groans in protest, but looks up to meet her eyes bravely even though he still had unshed tears in his own.

"Yes, I know" his voice comes out rough, "we're just friends for now. I haven't forgotten."

"Then why?" Danielle could barely speak. "Why did you do that?" Draco looks down and runs his right hand through his hair awkwardly.

"Being around you makes me feel better," He mutters looking uncomfortable with the confession. "For some reason… your presence… it's… comforting. I know I would have never made it through the war alive without you, but I never realized just how much you helped me to stay sane during that time until you went back to America and I was left to face everything alone; the absence of my father, taking care of my mother, taking over the family business, running the manor… it made me aware that I needed you. For four months I thought I'd lose my mind without you. Now you're here… and I all I want to do is drown myself in you."

"What?" Danielle is startled by the intensity of his confession, and a little confused about what he meant by wanting to drown himself in her.

"It's just… I want a distraction," Draco looks away from Danielle nervously, "I need to escape these horrible feelings weighing me down and just let it all go for a few moments. I can only do that with you though. I don't trust anyone else." Danielle looks down to try and process everything Draco had just told her. It was overwhelming, but the logic was there. That blissful nothingness she'd felt the moment Draco kissed her… that's what he wanted. Danielle had to admit that she wouldn't mind experiencing it again too. They had both been bottling up their misery for so long, and this seemed like a real way to release that pent up emotion.

"The point of this is to _not_ think," Draco sighs after a second of watching the girl in front of him analyze his speech, "or worry, or stress out or…"

"Okay," Danielle cuts him off before nodding slowly, "Alright. Let's try it." Draco takes a minute to look at her to make sure she was being serious before placing a hand on each side of her face and slowly leaning down to kiss her again. Danielle closes her eyes and tries to empty her mind like she had before. She rests her hands on top of Draco's shoulders and attempts to relax into the kiss. Her mind was reeling again though. There was a reason she hadn't taken comfort in him this way before. She didn't want to make things between the two of them confusing. Sure she liked Draco, but only the version of him that had risen to the surface in the context of war. She had no idea what he'd be like now, as a free thinking individual. Who was Draco Malfoy without the looming presence of Voldemort, the strict rules of his father, or the binding pureblood traditions he'd grown up with? Not even Draco himself could know the answer to those things. So, how could Danielle commit herself to a relationship with someone who doesn't even know who they are? And really, how could Danielle invest the time and effort into maintaining a healthy relationship when she should be investing time and effort into getting back her healthy mind?

"You're still thinking," Draco mumbles after a moment. Danielle curses under her breath and looks down to think some more. Maybe this wasn't the right thing to do after all. There were other, more responsible ways to work through the terrorizing effects of war. There was medication and therapy, obviously, but those things took months and even years sometimes to work. This, Danielle admits to herself, this had provided instant gratification for at least a moment. And if it worked once, it should be able to work again. She looks back up at Draco with her mind made up and pulls him back down so their lips meet roughly. Her forcefulness causes Draco to let out a small groan and slowly move his arms so they wrap securely around Danielle's lower back so that he can pull her closer. The increased contact between their bodies causes Danielle to finally lose her train of thought… and then it clicks. Draco's words from before drift through her head; she had to 'drown herself in him.' She had to overwhelm all her senses with him until her brain could think of nothing else. That was dangerous though, wasn't it? The Danielle of the past would never be so reckless… but then again, Josh had told her that she might have to break a few of her own rules in order to heal properly. He had told her that she needed to do whatever it might take to feel better, and that Draco may be the key to her finally finding peace. And there was no point in denying it, the more intense things seemed to get between her and Draco, the less her mind seemed to dwell on her normally obsessive negative thoughts and feelings. It was as if she was actually releasing the bad things from her mind through her actions.

With that in mind, Danielle allows her hand to slide off Draco's shoulders and down to his chest. Her fingers involuntarily begin popping open the buttons of his silky black dress shirt. She runs her hands up over his bare shoulders once she succeeds in exposing him, and feels him shiver even though the shirt was still mostly on. The reaction eggs her on a little and she lets her hands slide down over the warm skin of his chest and stomach. She traces the three long scars there with her fingers as Draco's hands find their way under her shirt and up her back. The act causes goose bumps to form up her arms, and a shiver to travel up her spine. Her brain was completely shut down now, and if felt incredible. She had no idea what she was doing, just that it was working as a distraction from… whatever it was that she'd needed to be distracted from. How could she think of anything else when Draco's hands were massaging and gripping her under her clothes, and when his lips were traveling over her collar bone and down her neck? Things seemed to progress pretty quickly from that point on, and soon Danielle finds herself reclined against the armrest of the couch in only her undergarments with a nearly naked Draco hovering over her looking a little unsure.

"I've never…" He says through his heavy breathing.

"Me either," Danielle finishes before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him back in for more kissing. The moment of conscientiousness only lasts a moment, but the understanding and agreement of what they were going to do passes between them clearly anyway. Reality ceases to exist again as the two shed the rest of their clothes. There was no thought of preparing themselves, just the need to be as close as physically possible. It wasn't about making the act pleasurable or special; it was about doing whatever was necessary to help each other tune out the world around them. And it seemed to work fairly well. Draco clenches his teeth, and reaches over Danielle's shoulder to grip the armrest of the couch when he finally pushes himself inside of her. The effort it takes, and the intensity of being joined together with Danielle in such a way causes a light sheen of sweat to form on his forehead. Danielle, on the other hand, grimaces at the discomfort, but doesn't tell Draco to stop. She actually welcomes the sharp pain that comes from the intrusion. This was the most alive she'd felt in months. Before her body can even adjust and get used to the feeling of Draco being in, over, and all around her though, it's all over. Less than a minute after it starts Draco comes undone, letting out a groan as he tenses up before his strength completely gives out and he collapses on top of Danielle, completely worn out.

They allow a few minutes of silence to pass so that their racing hearts could slow down, and so that their brains could finally catch up. Danielle winces when Draco rolls off of her due to the pain between her thighs. She quickly pulls her robes back on in a vain attempt to STAY distracted. It was no use though; real life was rapidly coming back into focus.

"Oh my gosh," Danielle is the first to speak after they were both dressed and sitting on opposite ends of the couch. She drops her head into her hands and groans, "I can't believe we just … let that happen." Draco clears his throat looking completely uncomfortable and a little guilty.

"I can't believe we did either to be honest," He says awkwardly, "Are you alright?" Danielle picks her head back up and meet's the boy's blue eyes confidently. She supposed she should be feeling a little shyer around him now, but finds that she's just glad that this isn't as bad as many of the other obstacles her and Draco have had to face.

"Oddly enough, I almost feel calm;" She tells him, "Like a heavy weight has been taken off my shoulders."

"And replaced with a different one?" he asks hesitantly. Danielle smiles a little at his nervousness.

"One that is significantly more manageable, I promise." She says truthfully. Instead of thoughts of Voldemort, death eaters, war, torture, and murder, her mind was occupied with trying to figure out how to proceed with Draco after what they'd just done.

"You're starting to regret it, aren't you?" Draco looks down at his lap with shame in his eyes. "I feel like I already am. I'm so sorry Danielle. I shouldn't have just bombarded you with all this with no warning."

"I…" Danielle furrows her eyebrows in thought, "let's just talk for a minute before we decide anything."

"You were right all along though," Draco sighs. "I'm not ready to be in a relationship; not with you, not with anyone. What happened just now, what we did; it wasn't for the right reasons. It's like you told me at the Manor… I wanted to be with you because I was selfish, not because I cared about you. You did so much for me during the war for nothing in return and I wanted to keep that. It's the same thing today. I took and you gave. You didn't get anything out of this except regret… and… pain."

"Draco," Danielle holds her hand up to stop him. "You did things for me during the war too. You protected me from the death eaters and from your parents more times than I can count. You saved my life during the final battle. Don't forget about all that. And … I did get something out of what we did tonight. Okay… I dumped just as much of my misery onto you through my actions as you did. We helped each other by taking each other's burdens. For some reason, it's easier to manage the pain of someone we care about than it is to manage our own. That's how we made it through the war too. I stayed strong, not for myself, but for you. And you pulled through and remained strong for me when it mattered most. That's what tonight was too, just in a different form."

"But, using each other like that," Draco shakes his head, "That can't be right."

"Maybe not," Danielle admits with a sigh, "But it's not like we're going to make a habit of it."

"No," Draco agrees quickly, "let's just keep things simple for a while until we're mentally stable enough for more." They both fall into silence again for a moment before Draco continues. "I'm, uh, sorry it wasn't better for you," He mumbles and Danielle's face turns red in embarrassment. "And I'm sorry for hurting you. There's no doubt you had the worst end of the deal, like always. I wish I could have shared what I felt with you. I wish we could have done this differently, and we could have shared the… the good part… together. You deserve better." Danielle blushes even more as she waves him off. She didn't want to talk about the details of their night, just the point of it, and how they were going to move forward now that it was over.

"You have nothing to apologize for," She tells him quickly. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm honestly fine with how it went. Sure, there was some pain, but it's nothing that I can't handle. And really, I did feel a lot better mentally afterwards. I still feel better. I feel a lot less alone in all this mess. I guess that means that I've needed you too." Draco finally smiles which causes Danielle to feel relieved. She didn't want Draco hating himself for what happened. Sure it was a little irresponsible, and probably not the healthiest way to deal with their problems, but it wasn't the end of the world as long as they could come to a mature understanding about it.

"So, now what?" he asks after a small pause.

"Now," Danielle begins as she tenderly pushes herself off the couch. "Now we go to bed because we have class bright and early tomorrow morning."

"We're back to being friends then?" Draco asks hopefully as he stands up as well.

"Yeah," Danielle nods her head, "Just please make sure never to ignore my letters again. I understand your reasoning for not writing me back over the summer, but I would have rather just known the truth than think you might hate me again or something."

"I'm sorry about that," Draco looks down guiltily again. Danielle closes the gap between them and pulls him into a tight hug. He instantly hugs her back and buries his face into the crook of her neck. Thankfully, hugging hadn't become awkward for them after being together so intimately just a short while before. Danielle didn't want something so short and stupid to ruin the bond they'd formed.

"Stop feeling bad about everything," She tells Draco. "I know you meant well, and I'm sorry too for being overly angry about it." She feels Draco nod his head before pulling out of the embrace.

"Will you sit with me at Breakfast tomorrow?" He asks to completely change the subject, "At the welcoming feast tonight, all I could picture were the lines of bodies after the final battle." Danielle's stomach rolls a little at the gruesome image, but nods her head.

"Yeah, I had the same problem" She tells him, "It's why I walked out."

"Maybe it'll be better if we go in together?" Draco suggests.

"Of course," Danielle lets out a small laugh before pulling him towards the door, "I'll meet you in the great hall."

"Alright," Draco smiles back before they begin to go separate ways in the hall, "I'll see you then. Good night!"

* * *

**A/N: So... feelings about this? Was this surprising to you all? Did it feel too abrupt? Do you empathize with Draco and Danielle? ****I'm sure you all have some sort of reaction to what just happened so I'd love to hear about it in a review!**


	76. Part Three: Chapter 3

**A/N: Hello Everyone! I have just a quick note before you read this chapter. Part Three of this story is the part that makes me the most nervous to post because it occurs after the original Harry Potter books ended. Because of this I would really appreciate any concerns you may have over plot, or description, or anything really. I really would like to know if there are things you want to know more about that I'm not touching on. Do you want more of Danielle's thoughts? More of Draco's? Are there things happening in the story that don't make sense? I want this part to be just as good as the first two, so whatever suggestions you have are warmly welcomed. Like I mentioned before, my goal as a writer is to entertain my readers. If i'm not achieving that, I need to know what I can do to make it better. Your constructive criticism makes me a better writer so that my readers have a better story. Thank you soooo much guys! I hope you enjoy chapter three.**

Part Three: Chapter Three

Danielle stumbles back into the Ravenclaw common room well after curfew and is surprised to find Tracy sitting up waiting for her. During the trip back from the room of requirement she'd had a good amount of time to reflect on the events of that night. Sure, she'd told Draco that she was okay with what they'd done, but really she was still trying to figure out if that was true. She hadn't, at any point in time, actually made the conscientious decision to take things as far as they went, but it had just sort of happened. She wondered how she'd been able to be so calm about it afterwards too. When she really thought about it, something extremely significant had just happened. She'd just slept with someone for the very first time, and it was with Draco Malfoy. How was she supposed to feel about that? Her self-doubt only increased as she realized she'd have to tell her best friend about the whole thing. This wasn't Malfoy Manor, where there was only her and Draco to worry about in their private little world. This was Hogwarts, where all Danielle's friends went to school and where she and Draco could not exist separately from everyone else.

Suddenly Danielle was feeling panicky again, and all she wanted to do was run upstairs and take a steaming hot shower. The scent of Draco's cologne and sweat still clung to her robes and skin and it made her feel a bit dirty. She'd been able to justify her reckless behavior to herself in the midst of the act, but would she be able to justify it to Tracy now? It wasn't that Danielle wanted to keep the truth from her friend; she just hoped that Tracy would understand why it had happened at all. She didn't want people thinking she'd gone crazy and had a one night stand or something. That's what it was though, wasn't it; a one night stand? The thought made Danielle feel sick.

"Did you have a nice walk?" Tracy asks after it became apparent that her friend wasn't going to say anything. The question alone was enough to make Danielle feel nervous and unsure about what to say.

"I don't know," She says as she comes over and carefully drops into one of the blue common room chairs. "It was okay." Tracy grins.

"Oh I bet it was," Danielle has to look down at her hands now to hide her face. Tracy lets out a little laugh, "We all saw Draco get up and follow you out as soon as you left the great hall."

"Oh," Danielle can't help but frown. There was no way out of this now. Tracy was never going to stop questioning her until she knew everything, "We ended up in the room of requirement."

"And?" Tracy raises her eyebrows expectantly. Danielle didn't say anything so she continued, "What happened?"

"We talked" was the answer.

"Talked," Tracy repeats disbelievingly. "Right, so did you sort everything out then?"

"Uh," Danielle shifts nervously on the couch. She really didn't want to have to fess up until she knew what she was fessing up too. She needed more time to think and analyze and come to terms with everything. "Well, yeah. We're friends again if that's what you mean. I guess we never stopped though. There was just some misunderstanding going on and we just had to … sort everything out; like you said." Tracy sighs and tilts her head.

"Don't make me drag the truth out of you." Danielle takes a deep breath then, knowing she had to just say it. Tracy could always tell when Danielle was keeping something from her.

"I… we…," Danielle sighs. "We did more than talk." Tracy smiles victoriously.

"How much more?" she asks. Danielle covers her face with her hands to hide her blush.

"A significant amount," her muffled voice answers.

"Well, usually a hug is a significant amount of touching to you," Tracy teases, "You need to give me a bit more since I know you've already been hugging Draco for a while. What base did you get to?"

"We sort of just skipped them all," Danielle peeks out from her fingers to watch her friend's reaction.

"What?!" Tracy gasps before laughing, "You can't be serious! I thought that you two might have messed around a bit during the war because of how much time you both spent together alone, but I never thought you'd have gone all out yet."

"Wait?" Danielle looks up at her friend confused, "messed around during the war?"

"I can't believe you've waited so long to tell me you've been sleeping with him," Tracy crosses her arms and smirks. "You know nobody is going to be upset with you if you decide to go out with him or anything. Harry and the others; they'll understand."

"What?" Danielle repeats. Tracy's reaction was nothing like she would have expected. Everything was being blown way out of proportion. "No! We're not … this isn't… you thought I've been doing stuff with him this whole time?" Tracy just shrugs.

"I mean, you two were pretty much alone in a bedroom for months on end" She explains awkwardly. "It wouldn't be that surprising if you two had… taken comfort in one another during the war, or even just gotten bored for that matter. People do crazy things in stressful situations, and will do almost anything just to escape what they're going through, even people with strict morals like you." Danielle could not believe how supportive and understanding Tracy was being. It was a huge relief to know that she wasn't going to be judged or thought badly of by her best friend. All her worrying a moment ago seemed to be for nothing now.

"We never did anything like that during the war," Danielle explains after relaxing a bit more, "I told you that before when you tried to accuse me of liking him at the start of last year. There was nothing like that going on between us then. Tonight was the first time. Things have just gotten so messed up in my head. Like you were just saying, I was extremely stressed, and needed an escape from all the horrific crap that's been playing in my mind nonstop since the final battle."

"Okay, hold on," Tracy has to backtrack for a second. "_Tonight_ was the first time?! Are you telling me that you lost your _virginity_ to _Draco Malfoy_ like _just now_?!"

"Jeez," Danielle flushes in embarrassment. "Thanks for summing that up, but I don't think the people in Gryffindor Tower heard you so maybe you should announce that a little louder."

"And you're back to being sarcastic too!?" Tracy beams with happiness, "Remind me to thank Draco for fixing my best friend! He must be amazing in bed to have you all feisty and fresh again so fast."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet, alright?" Danielle mumbles, "Feisty and fresh might be taking it a little too far."

"But he was good though?" Tracy questions.

"You are not seriously asking me that," was the short reply. Danielle was a little shocked by this conversation. She had been planning on giving as many excuses and explanations as possible to get Tracy to understand why she'd done what she had with Draco, but it turns out that her best friend thought it was completely natural.

"Yeah," Tracy nods, "I seriously am."

"I don't interrogate you about your nightly activities with Harry," Danielle says to try and avoid the question.

"My nightly activities with Harry aren't nearly as exciting," Tracy states before smirking a little, "We'll they ARE exciting, but not as surprising. I mean, Harry and I are dating so the nightly activities are sort of expected."

"Look, if you have to know it wasn't very…" Danielle tries to think of the right word. "What I'm trying to say is that it wasn't… it felt good mentally, but physically it was very … well the lead up was okay, but as you can imagine… it wasn't romantic or anything… "

"What are you even saying?" Tracy lets out an awkward laugh at her best friend's inability to articulate her thoughts.

"It hurt," Danielle finally says, "and it didn't last long." She felt bad saying it because she knew Draco would be embarrassed to have people knowing that part. Tracy frowned. "Look," Danielle continues, "It was both of our first times and we were just trying to forget everything for a while. We weren't trying to be loving and passionate or anything like that. It didn't even hit me that I'd just slept with someone for the first time until after I left and was on my way back here."

"So, you're not dating him or anything then?" Tracy asks looking as if this all was anticlimactic. "You both just did it to get a break from real life?"

"I guess," Danielle shrugs. "I think all of this was sort of over both of our heads though. It worked as a distraction for a moment, but Draco and I weren't prepared for it at all. It was way too much, way too soon. Seeing him again was more overwhelming that I thought it would be. I guess it was the same for him too. I suppose what we did was just something we had to do to get some kind of closure or… to get the war out of our system or something. Either way, we both have a lot of healing to do before that can happen again. We agreed to just keep things simple, and to just take it slow for now."

"Before it can happen again?" Tracy was smiling again now and Danielle rolls her eyes.

"Don't," she says seriously, "I know you just want me to find happiness and everything, and that you're happy that Draco and I are friends again, but we don't need a bunch of outside pressure. We had enough of that during the war. We need the time and freedom to just be ourselves for a while, especially Draco. He doesn't need to build his life around me like his mother did with her husband."

"Will you be able to just be friends after this though?" Tracy asks, with no trace of teasing in her voice. "What you guys did is a big deal. Are you going to be able to be alright around each other after? It won't be awkward or anything?"

"I hope not," Danielle sighs. "We agreed to eat breakfast together tomorrow."

"At the Slytherin table?" Tracy asks.

"I'd assume so," was the response. "I can't really see him coming to the Gryffindor table."

"Are you going to tell Harry and the others?" was Tracy's next question. The pit in Danielle's stomach returned for a moment.

"No," she shakes her head. "It's not that I think they shouldn't know… I just don't want people making a big deal out of it. Draco probably wouldn't want a bunch of people knowing anyway. Like you said, it's not like we're dating or anything so it would be a little awkward."

"I can understand that," Tracy nods her head. "They'll all be content just knowing you're doing better anyway. It's good to see you out of your shell again."

"Well, as I said, we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves," Danielle reminds her. "There's still a lot of healing to be done, of course. I will admit though that seeing Draco again felt reassuring. For some reason being around him makes me… more optimistic. Sorry if that sounds weird."

"It's not weird," Tracy assures her friend with a small smile, "just a little strange hearing you talk like this about someone."

"It is strange," Danielle frowns, "strange and scary."

"And exciting," Tracy adds.

"We'll see," Was all Danielle says before standing back up with a wince.

"You alright?" Tracy asks teasingly.

"I need to shower," was the reply. After a second Danielle mumbled, "How long am I going to be this sore?"

"Uh, maybe a day or two," Tracy shrugs looking sympathetic.

"Lovely," Danielle sighs.

"It won't be as bad next time," Tracy grins mischievously.

"I'm going to take a shower," Danielle completely ignores her friend's comment.

"Fine," Tracy takes the hint and stands up too, "I'm going to bed then. Congratulations on losing your V-card, and on your rekindled friendship with Draco."

"Congratulations on being the most awkward best friend on Earth," was the sarcastic reply.

"Thanks!" Tracy flashes a toothy grin.

"Go to bed," Danielle shakes her head at her friend's ridiculousness.

"Alright, alright" Tracy sighs, "See you in the morning."

* * *

The next morning was understandably a little uncomfortable and awkward for both Draco and Danielle, but they pushed through it the best they could. Neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before, and instead went over everything they should have talked about in their letters over the summer; how was Narcissa? How was Abby? How was Mrs. Emmings adjusting to life back in her old house? How was taking over the Malfoy business going? And though the conversation was difficult and strained because of their activities from the night before hanging above them, the two had pretty much gotten over the embarrassment by the time they made it to their first class.

"I can't believe Professor Slughorn has us making Veritaserum," Danielle looks down at her potions book skeptically. "This is seriously… advanced."

"This coming from a girl who brewed a blood replenishing potion in the middle of her bedroom with limited supplies," Draco looks over and raises an eyebrow at his Ravenclaw partner. It felt good to be back together in the dungeons together brewing potions for class, just like when they first met. It was like their story had come full circle, which gave them both hope that things could go back to normal even after all they had been through.

"Well, I still don't know if I did that right," Danielle admits with a sigh. "I would have never let anyone drink it unless it was an emergency. That potion is dangerous, it can kill someone if it's made wrong."

"If I recall correctly, it was dangerous to even attempt to make at all," Draco smiles as he measures out some powdery substance for their potion. The smile made Danielle think back to when she'd first met Draco. In the two years she'd known him, she'd never seen him smile so easily or in front of so many other people as he was doing today. It was nice to see him being Draco in public for once, and not Malfoy.

"It _was _dangerous," she says guiltily after a second, "I could have blown up half the manor making that potion. The ingredients are highly reactive if mixed incorrectly."

"Yet you went ahead and made it anyway," Draco points out teasingly. Danielle just shrugs before looking over at Tracy who seemed less than thrilled with her new partner: a curly haired blonde Slytherin girl who seemed to be completely lost.

"Isn't that Daphne Greengrass?" Danielle turns back to Draco who nods his head. "What is she doing taking a N.E.W.T level potions class?"

"Most likely trying to impress me," Draco shrugs with a hint of one of his old smirks. He certainly wasn't the same arrogant, horrible boy Danielle had met two years ago, but he was definitely still Draco Malfoy.

"Last time I checked it was her younger sister you had your eye on though," Danielle lets out a laugh as she adjusts the flame underneath their caldron. "Besides, I didn't think the race for Draco Malfoy's hand would still be on after everything that's happened."

"Why not?" Draco asks with fake conceit, "I may not have the power that I once had, but I'm still rich and attractive."

"Oh yeah," Danielle rolls her eyes, "How could I have forgotten."

"And just for the record, I no longer have my sights set on Astoria Greengrass" Draco confesses hesitantly after a moment.

"And why is that?" Danielle asks curiously.

"Besides the obvious fact that she's a bit ill equipped in the brain department?" He asks with his eyebrows raised.

"If that's your way of nicely trying to say that she's stupid, it needs work" was Danielle's reply.

"Whatever," Draco shrugs, "It's true though. If it had been her at the manor instead of you during the war, I'd be dead. And besides, apparently she started fooling around with Nott last year. I'd rather kiss a dementor than marry someone who's been with that scum bag." Danielle opened her mouth to reply, but Professor Slughorn moved over to their table before she could speak.

"Oh! Incredible!" he announces as he looks into their cauldron, "Splendid! Ms. Emmings, I remember how impressed I was with your work with Mr. Zabini at the start of last year. But this! Wow! A perfectly brewed Veritaserum on your first try! Very good, 10 points to Ravenclaw! And, of course, Mr. Malfoy 10 points to Slytherin as well. You two make quite the team. I'm excited to see how powerful this is once it has finished aging after the full moon."

"Thank you Professor," Danielle smiles gratefully.

"Your work with Mr. Zabini last year?" Draco looks to the girl next to him curiously after the teacher walks away.

"Of course, that would be the only thing he said that your head would process," Danielle smiles sadly. "Blaise kept me company in class last year before I came back to the manor. Because of my engagement with you, I couldn't sit with Tracy or anyone else in the DA or else the Carrows would have gone and told your parents."

"That's just one more thing I owe Zabini for, huh?" Draco frowns now.

"If anything, it's _me _who owes him," Danielle corrects.

"I told him to keep an eye on you while you were at Hogwarts though," Draco points out. "He did all those things to protect you because of me. He died because of me."

"Well, he'd still be alive if I hadn't gone and gotten myself captured by Nott's father," Danielle reasons.

"Will you both stop?" Tracy had walked over and interrupted them, "Blaise would hex you both for bickering about who caused his death. Besides, class is over and I need to get out of here before I strangle Greengrass over there." Draco chuckled evilly.

"Yep, he's still a Slytherin," Danielle shakes her head as she gathers her things.

"What are you doing for lunch?" Draco asks suddenly and Danielle turns around to look at him oddly.

"Eating?" she says.

"I just meant, well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to eat with me again" Was his reply. Danielle looks to Tracy who had a smirk on her face that made it extremely obvious that she knew about what her friend and Draco had been up to during the welcoming feast.

"You don't need my permission," She teases.

"I know that," Danielle defends before looking back to Draco. "Yeah, I'll meet you in the great hall after Herbology."

"Alright," He nods looking pleased. "I'll see you then." Draco then grabs his bag and walks out into the hall. Danielle looks back over at Tracy who had an irritating smirk on her face.

"What?" Danielle asks in annoyance.

"Nothing," Tracy hums. Danielle just lets out an irritated sigh before following Tracy out of the classroom.

* * *

"Well, it looks like Danielle and Malfoy have worked everything out," Harry says after Tracy had come over and settled into the spot next to him at the Gryffindor table for lunch.

"Yeah, they both look more upbeat today," Ron says as he cranes his neck to look over to the Slytherin table. "Merlin it's weird to see Malfoy smile. Look at that!"

"Stop staring," Tracy pokes the red headed boy in the shoulder. He glares at her for a moment before turning back to his ham, cheese, and mustard sandwich.

"I don't get why Danielle keeps sitting over there with him," Seamus frowns. "She's not engaged to him anymore."

"They're friends," Hermione says in a stern voice. "You'll have to accept it sooner or later. We all will."

"She's our friend too," Seamus points out angrily. "Or maybe she isn't. I mean, she always chooses him doesn't she?"

"That's not fair Seamus," Tracy reprimands him now. "There is no choice. It's not us or him; we're ALL Danielle's friends. And right now, Draco needs her more than we do. He's trying to change and become a better person than he was so that he can fit into this new world of freedom. That isn't an easy thing to do, you know. After winning the war, we all just had to settle back into our normal lifestyles. Draco can't do that. His former ideals and attitudes won't be tolerated anymore. Everything that he's ever believed in or thought to be true has been taken away. He truly does have to start fresh, and he needs someone to be there for him to help him get through it."

"Poor bloke," Neville frowns. "It's like the war isn't over for him yet."

"Maybe we could help too," Ron pipes in as he looks to Harry and Hermione for confirmation. "We could invite him to sit over here sometime."

"What?" Seamus gasps, "You must be joking! A Slytherin sitting at the Gryffindor table; are you mad?"

"It would be a little strange," Harry admits. "But that isn't ever going to change unless we confront it, right? I wouldn't be opposed to him eating here."

"You're nuts!" Seamus looked appalled, "Have you forgotten the way he's treated all of us; you three especially!" The Irish boy gestures between Ron, Hermione, and Harry. "I really doubt he even wants to be friends with you guys."

"Like Harry said, we should at least give it a try before saying it's impossible," Hermione looks between her friends. "I know he's been cruel to us and said some pretty awful things, but I think he's done enough to get an opportunity to earn our forgiveness and gain our acceptance. He was raised to be hateful, but I think he can overcome that. He did with Danielle. He just needs time to let his brain sort everything out."

"What if it gets sorted out exactly the way it was before?" Seamus challenges.

"What if all of us had died and you were sitting here all alone at the Gryffindor table while the Slytherin's flourished and made no effort at all to be understanding about your situation?" was Ron's response.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Seamus concludes irritably.

"The point is, too much has happened for any of us to be the same as we were before the war. Malfoy especially has no choice but to rethink his values if only for the fact that there is nobody else on his side to stand behind his old ones," Hermione explains. "And I expect that Danielle's influence on him has been a positive one. I really feel that she has helped him to look at the world from a completely new perspective."

"You're right," Neville nods, "and even if Malfoy is still the same old jerk he's always been, we'd be no better than him if we didn't at least give him a chance to redeem himself."

"Right, we need to set an example for everyone else," Tracy nods her head. "If we give Draco a chance, maybe other people will give him and all the other Slytherins a chance too."

"It's settled then," Ron claps his hands together. "Next time we get the chance, we'll talk to Malfoy."

* * *

"WHAT?! NO!" Draco shouts at the game in his hands furiously.

"You lost again?" Danielle looks over at him curiously. They were outside by the lake. Draco was playing Pokémon Heart Gold and Danielle was working on an essay for her Herbology class. It was a week into the school year and the teachers were already piling on the homework. It was overwhelming, but Danielle was thankful for it because it kept her mind busy. She'd been feeing increasingly more comfortable in Hogwarts since she'd arrived, and she'd slept through the night without having a single nightmare for the first time the night before.

"It's that stupid Lapras! It has no weakness!" Draco growls before setting the device down in his lap and turning to look at Danielle.

"You'll just have to level up more. It took me forever to beat Trainer Red too," She says encouragingly. "Once you beat him though you'll be able to catch Rayquaza, the legendary dragon."

"Why can't I just skip Red? I beat the champion, so technically I beat the whole game. These extras are pointless. I just want to play the new black and white versions now," Draco folds his arms.

"You've put way too much work into that game to give up now," Danielle eyes him in amusement. "You know the saying: If you're going to do something, do it right."

"You're such a Ravenclaw," Draco smirks before picking the game boy back up.

"And proud of it," Danielle smiles back causing the blonde boy to let out a laugh.

"Would you have been proud no matter which house you were sorted into?" He asks after a second.

"Maybe," she shrugs, "Probably. I didn't really care when I first moved here because I didn't know the sorting was such a big deal. I would have adapted to whichever house I was sorted into, but I think Ravenclaw fits me pretty well; don't you?"

"Yeah," he nods. "It's strange though, that your sister's in Gryffindor."

"You don't think she has Gryffindor qualities?" Danielle asks.

"Oh no, she's as Gryffindor as they come," Draco corrects, "It's just odd that two sisters could be so different."

"The Patil sisters are identical twins and they got sorted into different houses," Danielle points out.

"That's true," Draco sighs as he glares down at the game screen. "I guess I'm the strange one then because everyone in my family has been in Slytherin. I wonder why it's never been different."

"Because Slytherin is all anyone in your family knows until they get to Hogwarts," Danielle reasons. "You grow up with your Slytherin Parents and their Slytherin friends. By the time you meet anyone different, Slytherin has already become who you are. And really, I don't think anyone is ever one hundred percent Slytherin or any other house. We all have unique characteristics that might not fit into our house's description."

"Yeah, most Slytherins don't hang out and play Pokémon with Ravenclaws" Draco smirks and Danielle scrunches up her face at him.

"Maybe they should," She challenges.

Draco pauses for a second to look at her before smiling and saying, "They definitely should."

* * *

**Just wanted to express my gratitude to each and every person who has been leaving me reviews! I can't even explain to you how rewarding it is to get so much feedback, both positive and otherwise. I love knowing that my writing is coming to life in all of your imaginations, and that you are enjoying my characters (and my portrayal of JK Rowling's characters). You've made me a very happy lady :)**


	77. Part Three: Chapter 4

Part Three: Chapter Four

"So, Gryffindor Quidditch try outs are today!" Harry declares at breakfast a few days later, "whose excited?"

"Me!" Abby thrusts her hand into the air, "I can't wait!"

"Same here!" Ginny grins, "We are going to dominate this year! I just know it!"

"Cho Chang held try outs for Ravenclaw yesterday," Tracy challenges, "And she says we've got the cup in the bag."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see then, won't we?" Harry smiles at his girlfriend. Danielle frowns at the two love birds before letting out a yawn. She'd woken up abnormally tired this morning and all this Quidditch talk wasn't helping. She was glad that her sister, and her friends had something to be excited about though. Seeing them all smile and laugh together every day was helping her realize that she could completely heal after the war as well. It was just taking her a little longer.

"I thought you were starting to sleep better," Tracy immediately becomes concerned for her friend, "Are the nightmares coming back?"

"I'm fine, sheesh" Danielle fights off the embarrassment of having her weaknesses announced at the table. "I'm just tired." She really didn't want her other friend's knowing just how bad she'd been during the summer, but she had a feeling they had figured it out by watching her and talking to Tracy.

"Well here, drink some coffee then," Tracy rolls her eyes as she pushes a hot mug toward Danielle.

"Ugh! What did you put in this?" Danielle asks as she looks into the cup causing everyone to look at her strangely.

"Crème and sugar," Tracy states awkwardly, "Why?"

"It smells weird," Danielle pushes the cup away with a look of disgust, "Like B.O!"

"What's B.O?" Ron asks through his mouthful of oatmeal.

"Don't talk with your mouthful Ron!" Hermione says sounding annoyed.

"Anyway!" Harry laughs and decides to get them all back on topic, "We should all meet in the Quidditch pitch before dinner. That way we will have enough time to set the team."

"When are the Slytherins having try outs?" Ginny asks, looking directly at Danielle. The girl was still preoccupied with Tracy's cup of coffee though.

"I'm sorry," She says and reaches over and takes the mug, "but I don't think you should drink this."

"Why?" Tracy frowns.

"Maybe the crème was bad," Danielle pushes the cup as far away from them as possible. "I don't know. It just smells weird."

"It smells fine to me," Tracy reaches over and pulls the cup back over in front of her before taking a big wiff of it. Danielle leans away from it looking horrified.

"Well," Ginny speaks up again, "The Slytherin team? Danielle, do you know anything about it?"

"Not really," Danielle explains, finally giving her friends her undivided attention. "I don't even know if there are enough Slytherins to have a decent team."

"What's the point of having a Gryffindor Quidditch team if there isn't a Slytherin Quidditch team to annihilate?" Ron pouts and Abby cheers in agreement.

"Alright well, I'm going to go find Draco now," Danielle abruptly stands up from the table.

"Okay…" Tracy was looking at her friend like she had lost her mind now. Danielle knew she was acting sort of strange, but the Gryffindor table was a little too rambunctious for her that morning. She needed to get away before it got on her nerves. Sure she'd been feeling a little better lately, but sometimes she still felt a bit overcrowded by her friends. It was Draco's company that helped her relax, so it was Draco's company that she craved.

"I'll see you later in transfiguration," She tells Tracy, "Bye."

"Bye…" Tracy replies and then watches Danielle turn and walk out of the great hall.

* * *

The next day Danielle and Tracy were sitting in their charms class discussing the future as they practiced the wand motion for the slicing spell that they had just been taught. Talking freely in the classrooms and halls was a luxury that both girls hadn't fully appreciated until the reign of Snape and Carrows the previous year. It had been exhausting to constantly worry about accidentally breaking one of the many rules and ending up at the mercy of some deranged death eater. It was wonderful to have the old Hogwarts back, and the Ravenclaw girls took full advantage of their reinstated freedom.

"Does Harry still want to be an Auror?" Danielle asks as she flourishes her wand toward the apple in front of her. Nothing happened which made the girl sigh in annoyance. She'd had difficulty with the spell they'd learned in Transfiguration the day before as well. She was quickly learning that the N.E.W.T level classes she'd signed up for were definitely nothing to joke about. It was the first time in a long time she'd had so much trouble performing magic.

"What else COULD he be? He's pretty much destined to fight evil and save the world," Tracy laughs as she flicks her wand at the piece of fruit. It fell into eight equal wedges on the table. Danielle's looks at the red slices irritably before replying.

"I just thought he might be sick of all the evil after everything," she confesses as she tries and fails once again to cut the apple. "And I know he hates the ministry too."

"Well, he's already taking all the classes," Tracy shrugs before pulling another apple over and slicing it perfectly once again.

"Well done Ms. Ross!" Professor Flitwick congratulates Tracy after seeing her flawless wand work. "I dare say you take very much after your brother!"

"Thank you professor," Tracy blushes at the extreme praise.

"15 points to Ravenclaw for getting it on the first try as well!" The tiny man says enthusiastically before turning to Danielle, "Let's see you try again Ms. Emmings! Don't give up! Nonverbal magic can be quite difficult at first but I've seen you perform more complicated spells than this!"

Danielle once again waves her wand at the apple but nothing happens. Professor Flitwick looks a little disappointed but tells her to keep trying before moving on to help other students.

"Maybe it's the apple," Danielle says as she picks the fruit up in her hands to smell it. "Or maybe I'm just getting sick or something… I've been feeling off the past few days."

"Yeah, you've been acting kind of weird," Tracy agrees. "That shouldn't affect your magic though, should it? I think that you're still probably feeling the effects of the war, like post traumatic stress. I heard that sort of thing could make a witch or wizard's magic do funny things, and you have a lot of the symptoms; depression, nightmares, irritability, isolating yourself. Maybe you should talk to the nurse about it."

"Yeah, I don't know," Danielle shrugs, suddenly wanting to change the subject. "What does Harry think about you wanting to work for the ministry?"

"I'm thinking about changing my mind about that, actually" Tracy confesses, "I'm leaning more toward the idea of teaching now. McGonagall called me into her office after lunch yesterday to talk to me. She says she wants to mentor me for the transfiguration position here at Hogwarts!"

"Are you serious?!" Danielle couldn't believe her ears, "Transfiguration is one of the most difficult subjects taught here! I mean, I know you're good enough but wow! Teaching at Hogwarts!"

"I know!" Tracy smiled, "That would be so awesome! You should ask Madam Pomfrey about doing an apprenticeship with her! You want to be a healer! We could both work at Hogwarts together!"

"Yeah!" Danielle had given up trying to cut her apple at this point. "You know? I never really thought about getting a career in London. I always just figured I'd go back to the states once I graduated."

"Really?" Tracy scrunched up her nose, "Not me! London is where all the cool magic people live!"

"You mean London is where Harry lives," Danielle smiles knowingly at her friend.

"It's not just Harry," Tracy confides, "I just feel like this is where I belong now. I've invested myself so much in the war here and in this school and in these people. I can't imagine leaving now. Don't you feel that way?"

Danielle thought about it for a moment, "I feel like the only thing I've invested myself in is Draco."

"Well, that's as good a reason as any to stay right?" Tracy says to her friend playfully.

"No," Danielle says and Tracy frowns, "I don't know."

* * *

"Truthfully," Draco says as he moves one of his pawns forward confidently across the board. He was in the room of requirement with Danielle. It still took the shape of the small living room and the two were sitting on the floor with a wizard's chess board between them on the coffee table. It had taken a while before they were both comfortable going back there, but spending so much time together recently had made it a little easier. "Getting together a decent Quidditch team for Slytherin is going terribly so far. But don't tell Potter that."

"I won't," Danielle says; studying the board. "You better hope for a miracle though. My sister made the Gryffindor team and I hear she's crazy good."

"I'm not worried," Draco looks to her with a smirk. "It's all about the seeker anyway. As long as I can get that snitch before Potter the rest doesn't matter."

"And how many times has that actually happened?" Danielle looks up after taking out Draco's queen with her knight.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Draco frowns as he crosses his arms. Danielle only laughs.

"Guess what I found out about Tracy today?" She asks as she watches him try to rectify the loss of his best chess piece.

"Her and boy wonder are going to get married and have a bunch of little potters who all have hero complexes and live happily ever after?" He asks sarcastically.

"Hopefully not for a while," Danielle says. "But McGonagall is going to be mentoring her after graduation, to prepare her for teaching transfiguration here at Hogwarts!"

"Am I supposed to be excited about that?" Draco asks her with a tiny smile.

"You're supposed to be impressed and happy for her," Danielle lets out a laugh as she watches Draco move a bishop toward one of her castles.

"Oh," was the response, "but I'm much more interested in what you'll be doing after Hogwarts."

"I'm not sure," Danielle tells him honestly. "I'd always assumed I'd go back to the states but Tracy put it in my head that I should ask Madam Pomfrey about doing some sort of training with her, since I'm going the healer route."

"You want to move back to the states for good after graduation?" Draco asks, quickly losing interest in their game. It was obvious that her statement had took him by surprise.

"Well, I don't know!" Danielle says with a shrug. "That's where I live."

"Correction," Draco frowns, "That's where you lived: Past tense. You've been here in England for all but a few months of the past two years."

"That wasn't exactly my choice though," Danielle defends. "I came to Hogwarts just for the higher education. I didn't know I was going to be sucked into a war."

"You weren't sucked into anything," Draco narrows his eyes, "You fought tooth and nail to be in the front lines most of the time."

"Ok, that's an exaggeration" Danielle huffs, "And fine, I participated in the war out of my own free will but that still doesn't mean that I was planning on moving here for good."

"So that's it then," Draco raises his voice, "You're just going to leave again?"

"What?" Danielle gasps at his audacity to bring that subject up again. She thought he had forgiven her for that, or at least become more understanding of her reasoning for wanting to go home to her parents after the war instead of staying with him. "I don't know what I'm doing yet. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. We still have this whole school year before I have to decide for sure."

"Well, I decide that you stay," Draco states.

"Oh really?" Danielle folds her arms.

"Yes," Draco replies firmly.

"And who put you in charge of my future?" Danielle questions.

"I put myself in charge," was the response.

"You can't do that," Danielle says.

"Yes I can," Draco corrects.

"No," Danielle objects.

"Yes," Draco argues.

"You're bugging me," Danielle was honestly feeling annoyed now. Just a few moments before, the two of them had been relaxed and playful, and now they were at each other's throats. Danielle wished Draco would stop trying to be so controlling. He was acting as if every decision she made was a reflection of her feelings for him.

"You're bugging me too," Draco snaps back harshly.

"Well then, bye" Danielle stands up.

"You can't leave!" Draco declares.

"That's the great thing about not being engaged or locked up in the manor anymore," Danielle frowns, "because yes, I actually can." And with that, she turned around and marched out. It was the first real argument between her and Draco since before the final battle, and although it was annoying, Danielle couldn't help but feel a little refreshed. She knew that they'd both get over it by the next day, and Draco wasn't Draco if he didn't grind on her nerves every once in a while. The fact that they were bickering made Danielle optimistic that things were getting back to normal. She was slowly getting back to her headstrong, stubborn self, which in her opinion, was a very positive thing.

* * *

Danielle groans as she feels someone pushing on her shoulder to get her to wake up. Behind her eyelids she could still see the remnants of flashing green lights and a pair of blood red eyes. She reached desperately under her pillow for her wand only it wasn't there. Tracy had been taking it away from her at night so that she didn't end up hexing one of their roommates. The nightmares were coming back full force lately, and neither of them knew why. Every time Danielle thought she had taken one step forward toward recovery, she quickly seemed to take two steps back. The person poked her in the shoulder again so she decided to give in. An overwhelming wave of nausea hits her as soon as she opens her eyes though.

"Are you up now?" Tracy's voice filters into her brain.

"UGHHHH!" Danielle moans, "Why?

"I think you were having a nightmare," Tracy says as she walks away to go pull on her shoes.

"Yeah," Danielle frowns, knowing it was pointless to try and deny it, "Was I talking or something?"

"No, but you were grinding your teeth and tossing and turning like crazy," Tracy explains looking concerned, "I thought the dreams were supposed to stop after the whole one night stand thing with the ex-hubby."

"They stopped for a while, but now they're slowly coming back" Danielle admits as she finally pushes herself up on her bed with a grimace since her stomach was still turning dangerously. She ignored the comment about the one night stand with Draco. "What time is it?"

"It's nine," Tracy says, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Not really," Danielle confesses, "But why are you up? Isn't it Saturday?"

"Harry and I are going to Hogsmead," Tracy explains. "You can go back to sleep if you want. Harry just wanted to go early so that he could have Quidditch practice later."

"I didn't know there was a Hogsmead trip today," Danielle mumbles.

"Well, I don't think you should go out anyway" Tracy eyes her friend, "If you aren't feeling well you should go to the nurse. You need to go there anyway to talk to someone about training to be a healer after graduation."

"I'm just going to go down to the great hall for breakfast," Danielle says, "I want some toast."

"Whatever," Tracy shrugs, "I guess I'll see you later then. Feel better!"

"I'll try," Danielle waves before collapsing back down into her pillow, "Have fun." She continued to lie in bed for a few moments after Tracy left. She was trying to figure out what had triggered the nightmare, and what had made her feel so sick. She had no ideas though so she finally just pushes herself out of bed once her stomach settles and gets dressed. On her way down to the great hall however, she runs into a troubling scene. A group of kids from several different houses had cornered Draco and were taunting him.

"Why did you even come back here Malfoy?" Someone from Hufflepuff shouts.

"Yeah! How can you even show your face here?" Another kid from Ravenclaw yells. Danielle sees the muscles in Draco's jaw clench as he balls up his fists at his sides.

"It's your fault Dumbledore is dead! You let those death eaters in during sixth year!" Danielle was surprised to hear Seamus' voice. "You should be in Azkaban rotting away like your father!" He had his wand out and had it pointed right in Draco's face. Before she could think, Danielle had whipped out her own wand which she'd stolen back from Tracy's nightstand and was storming up to the group.

"What the heck is going on?" She shoves her way into the cluster so that she stood between Draco and the others. She met eyes with Seamus and shook her head at him. "This is despicable Seamus, honestly."

"You're really just going to keep on defending him, aren't you?" the boy asks accusingly. "He's the despicable one! He's a death eater!"

"He's not the one attacking people in the hallways," Danielle points out.

"Not this time he isn't!" Seamus shouts, "But it's been him before."

"It hasn't been him in a while," Danielle narrows her eyes, "He's changed. But even if he hadn't, you're just as bad as him for lowering yourself to this. Are you really going to sit here and bully and harass the way he used to? Do you think its okay for you to do it but wrong for him?"

"Why do you continue to associate with him anyway?" Seamus asks, completely avoiding Danielle's questions, "You told me you hated him. You're engagement is off, so why don't you just forget him."

"If you're upset about me being friends with him, than that's something you need to talk to me about," Danielle retorts. "It isn't something you can take out on Draco. He isn't forcing me to be nice to him."

"Yeah, but I still don't trust him," Seamus frowns, "He has the dark mark."

"And even if he didn't you'd still find a reason not to like him," Danielle counters. She hesitates for a moment before continuing, "It isn't Draco's fault that you and I never were able to get as close as you wanted us to." Seamus gets quiet then, looking a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry for disappointing you," Danielle continues in a softer voice, "It was never my intention. I really enjoyed your company when we studied together in sixth year, and when we fought together in the DA last year. It's just that circumstances prevented us from being more than friends. You blame Draco for everything but it isn't his fault; it's mine. But, I wasn't spending time with him because I was blowing you off to try and get with him. I was just trying to keep him alive; because he didn't deserve the fate he was dealt. Maybe you don't agree, but I hope you can respect my choice." Seamus stays silent so Danielle then looks around at the rest of the kids, "the war has affected all of us. We're all still feeling the pain from the death and destruction of the final battle. I know you feel like you need to blame someone for everything that happened, and Draco is the most convenient target, but he isn't responsible for your suffering. He did the same thing as all of us during the war; tried to stay alive, and fought for what was right whenever his situation gave him the opportunity to do so."

"He killed Dumbledore!" a different Hufflepuff girl sneers.

"No, he didn't! Snape did!" Danielle snaps back, "So leave Draco alone! He was pardoned by the ministry which gives him just as much a right to take advantage of this time of peace as anyone."

"He was only pardoned because Harry lied for him!" A Gryffindor boy says.

"Harry didn't lie!" Danielle narrows her eyes at the kid, "He, Hermione, and Ron would have never escaped Malfoy Manor if it weren't for Draco."

"That didn't really happen!" A Ravenclaw girl declares.

"Yes it did!" Danielle glares, "Harry has hated Draco for nearly eight years now. Why would he lie to save him? He only told the people at the Ministry what really happened so that Draco and his Mother could be sentenced fairly. If they deserved to be in Azkaban, than that is where they would be."

"But, Malfoy still worked for you-know-who during the war!" The Gryffindor boy speaks up again.

"I'm not going to sit here and argue with you about this. You don't know what Draco did during the war because you weren't with him," Danielle folds her arms now. "If you have a problem with Draco being here, then maybe you should go to the headmistress about it. I'm sure she'd prefer that to students hexing each other in the hallways."

"Whatever," the Hufflepuff girl rolls her eyes.

"Yes," Danielle replies, "Whatever… now get out of here."

"You're not in charge of us," The Ravenclaw boy challenges.

"No," Danielle states, "But McGonagall is, and she'll do more than take away house points if she finds out about what you've been doing here."

"She's right," Seamus finally joins back into the conversation. "Come on guys, it's not worth it." Finally the group backed off, many of them turning and heading back toward their common rooms. Once the hall was clear, Seamus looked over to Danielle. "I don't like him," Seamus nods towards Draco, "I probably never will. But, I am sorry for having a go at him." Danielle just keeps her arms crossed and raises her eyebrows, causing Seamus to sigh in defeat. He steps to the right and looks at Draco, "I'm sorry for having a go at you." Draco only nods.

"Alright," Danielle speaks up, "I don't expect you both to ever get along or to be friends, but you can at least tolerate each other's existence. Can we agree to that? Because it's people who didn't that caused the whole war in the first place."

"Sure," Seamus agrees quickly.

"Yes," Draco concedes.

"Good," Danielle relaxes, "I'm sorry for lecturing."

"It's alright," Seamus shrugs, "Are you really going to tell McGonagall though?"

"No," Danielle sighs, "I know you're a good guy Seamus. I wouldn't be your friend if you weren't." The boy nods awkwardly.

"Right," He says, "I guess that's why your friends with him too then." He glances over at Draco again. Danielle merely nods her head to show that he's right. "Well, I suppose you want me to scram now," Seamus continues; sounding really uncomfortable. Danielle looks at him in exasperation.

"I'll see you at the Gryffindor table for Lunch," She tells him. He seemed to brighten up a little after that.

"Ok," He gives her a small smile, "See ya!"

"See ya," Danielle nods before waving to the boy as he turns and heads off toward the Gryffindor common room. Once he was out of earshot, Danielle turned to Draco.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

"You didn't have to do that," he says sounding a little embarrassed as he looked down at his feet.

"Yes I did. What they were doing was wrong," Danielle disagrees.

"Standing up for me like that isn't going to gain you popularity with the rest of Hogwarts," Draco mumbles. Danielle feels herself become a little annoyed.

"I don't care what gains me popularity," She bites out, "This isn't the first time this has happened, is it?" Draco stays silent which frustrates Danielle. "Why didn't you tell me?" It made her upset to think that Draco had been dealing with this for weeks now without her knowing.

"I didn't tell you for the same reason I didn't write you over the summer," Draco sighs before poking her in the arm, "You're too much of a worrywart."

"Am not," Danielle tries to stay irritated but can't help the smile that forms on her face at Draco's teasing. She knew the anger between them over their argument would blow over quickly.

"Are too," He says as he fights off a smile as well.

"Oh well," she shrugs before turning serious, "hopefully they leave you alone now in any case."

"How are _you_ feeling?" Draco suddenly asks after getting a close look at her. "You look really tired."

"I'm am tired," she admits.

"It's really early though," Draco points out. "Didn't you sleep well?"

"I've been feeling a little under the weather lately," Danielle admits. "Its flu season, you know, so I probably just caught a cold from someone." Draco frowns.

"Maybe you should be in bed resting then," He says.

"This might sound weird, but I just want some toast," Danielle shrugs before looking up and tapping her chin. "and maybe some ice cream. I don't know."

"Is that some sort of home remedy you learned from being around your dad's apothecaries or something?" Draco asks looking disgusted.

"No, that's just what I want right now" Danielle frowns.

"Well, I'll go to the great hall with you" Draco sighs, "We'll get you some toast… but I'm pretty sure the house elves haven't put out ice cream for breakfast."

"Darn," Danielle shakes her head jokingly, "I guess I'll just have to settle."

"You are so strange sometimes," Draco rolls his eyes before offering his arm to escort her to the great hall.

* * *

"So Danielle, when are you and Malfoy back getting together?" Harry asks once everyone had arrived that night for dinner. Danielle picked her head up from off the table to raise an eyebrow at her famous friend. She was feeling completely exhausted even though she hadn't done anything but hang out with Draco all day.

"You can't just ask stuff like that, Harry!" Hermione clicks her tongue at the boy irritably. "And look at her! She hardly looks like she wants to discuss anything like that right now!"

"I'm fine," Danielle lies even though her stomach rolled at the site of Ron's sausage and sauerkraut. "And for the record, I can't get BACK with Draco since I was never really with him in the first place."

"Either way," Hermione goes on, "Harry shouldn't have asked you something so personal."

"We're all friends," Ron reasons, "We're allowed to ask each other personal questions."

"Yeah, we have a right to know who you're dating," Harry adds as he looks at Danielle, "Or who you're PLANNING on dating."

"I'm not planning on dating anyone," Danielle states in monotone, "And we should drop the subject before Seamus comes down. He's already had a rough day and I doubt he'd like hearing about this."

"I still can't believe what he was doing with all those younger students this morning," Tracy frowns. "I wonder how long that's been going on."

"Please don't give Seamus a hard time about it," Danielle requests. "I already did so it should all be worked out now. He doesn't deserve to get told off for the same thing over and over. We should just leave it be now."

"I suppose," Hermione sighs. "You don't think he'll do it again though, do you? I mean, you think he would have gotten the hint to leave Malfoy alone after we all decided to invite him to sit at the Gryffindor table the other day." Danielle perked up at this.

"What?" She asks.

"Oh, we didn't tell you!" Ron lowers his forkful of food back down to his plate excitedly, "We thought we'd ask Malfoy to join us here for meals sometimes. It would sort of be like a peace offering, to let him know he doesn't have to be an outcast."

"Really?" Danielle was actually surprised to hear her friend's idea. She had known before that their opinions about Draco were changing, but bringing him over to the Gryffindor table could really backfire on them. They could really upset a lot of the other students by doing that.

"Yeah," Harry confirms it, "We haven't asked him about it yet because the right opportunity hasn't really presented itself. We don't want it to be awkward, so we want to wait and ask him in passing so it doesn't seem like a huge deal."

"Do you think he'd be up to it?" Ron asks.

"Honestly, I don't think so" Danielle sighs, knowing how proud Draco could be, "But I think he would appreciate the gesture. And I think it might be good for him to see that not everyone here hates him still. I'd wait a while to ask him though. I don't want him to think you're inviting him out of pity for what happened today."

"Good call," Tracy looks to her friend. "I wouldn't have thought of that." Danielle just shrugged.

"So, when's the first Quidditch game?" She asks just to change the subject. Harry and Ron immediately take the bait and launch into a detailed description of what the Gryffindor Quidditch team was doing for the next few weeks. Once everyone had turned their attention off of her, Danielle put her head back down on the table.

* * *

Danielle pulled her book bag up on her shoulder as she made her way through the halls of Hogwarts. She figured she must be late to class or something because the school seemed pretty empty. This caused her to quicken her pace until she came upon the right classroom. When she pushed the door open however; the room was empty. Confused, Danielle steps further into the room, wondering if she'd gotten the days mixed up. She pulls her bag up onto the nearest desk to look for her schedule when suddenly she feels the sharp jab of a wand to her back. She whips around and finds herself face to face with Fenrir Greyback. Her heart instantly begins pounding in her chest and she desperately reaches behind her to find her own wand.

"I killed you though…" She whimpers, still clawing for her wand without looking away from the death eater in front of her. The man just stepped closer to her, and looked down with a wide yellow toothed grin.

"You didn't kill me," He snarls, and a glob of drool drips down causing Danielle's stomach to knot up in disgust, "but you killed him!" Greyback flings his arm out, directing Danielle's eyes down to the floor.

"No!" Danielle cries out as she takes in the site of Blaise Zabini's still lifeless form. "That wasn't me! I didn't do this!" She moves to go to her friend's body but Greyback pulls her back.

"LET ME GO!" Danielle shouts as she thrashes violently to try and get away.

"It's all your fault," Greyback growls into her ear. "He'd still be alive if it weren't for you."

"NO!" Danielle yells desperately as she continues to fight the werewolf off, "NO!"

"I'm afraid he's right," another voice came from the doorway now. Danielle turns her head and gasps.

"Professor Dumbledore?" She croaks out as her eyes filled with tears.

"If it weren't for you, I'd be alive as well" The wise old man says as he strokes his long white beard calmly.

"But… the horcrux… it cursed you" Danielle stutters, "You were dying. You told Snape to kill you."

"You're nothing but a death eater sympathizer," Dumbledore shakes his head, "You even brought one to me and asked me to spare him…"

"What?" Danielle almost chokes, "You don't know what you're saying. It's just your cold! Its flu season you know!"

"That doesn't matter! Your fiancé told me what you said," Greyback's voice came out as a hiss now. Danielle looks up and realizes that it's because she was no longer being held captive by the death eater, but by Voldemort himself. He was glaring down at her with the blood red eyes inside his grey clammy face. "You called me a hypocrite," He snaps as he tosses her down onto the floor next to Blaise. "But you're wrong," He sneers, "The dark lord DOES value loyalty and you have betrayed me in the worst way."

"What?" Danielle says; trying to keep the shake out of her voice as she watches Voldemort lift up his wand and aim it at her.

"AVADA KADAVRA!" He bellows.

After a bright flash of green light, Danielle's eyes snap open and she sits up in her bed gasping for air. A nightmare: of course. She reaches up and feels that her forehead is coated in a cold sweat. To her left, Tracy was in her bed sleeping. It was Sunday so nobody had to be up this early. The sun was just peeking through the windows but Danielle knew she wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep. So after waiting a few minutes to let herself calm down, she gets up and gets dressed. She needed to get her mind off of the war and the dream. Perhaps this was the perfect time to go to the hospital wing and ask Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, about plans for after graduation. Maybe she could get a dreamless sleep potion out of the visit too to get her through the upcoming week.

Danielle had only been to the hospital wing a few times before, and that had been during her first year at Hogwarts when she was still helping Draco fix the vanishing cabinet. He and Harry had gotten into a fight about Seamus taking Danielle to Hogsmead when Harry accidentally sent a deadly curse at Draco. The Slytherin boy had almost died that day. He still had the three long scars across his chest and stomach to prove it. Danielle had been the only one to come and visit him during the few days he spent in the hospital.

"Ms. Emmings!" a cheerful voice welcomes Danielle as soon as she pushes through the doors to the infirmary. Apparently the nurse remembered her from that horrible incident.

"Hello Madam Pomfrey," Danielle nods her head. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions if you aren't too busy?"

"Not at all, dear. Come with me to my office!" Madam Pomfrey leads her away from the rows of beds that were currently unoccupied and into a door near the back of the room. "I'm so pleased to see you back at Hogwarts to complete your education," the nurse says conversationally as she takes her place behind her desk. Danielle moved to take the seat opposite her. "Some of last year's seventh years didn't come back, as I'm sure you know; terrible choice, in my opinion. The war threw a wrench in all of our plans, but I don't see why the future can't be put on hold a little longer, as I'm sure graduating and getting a diploma will greatly improve it anyway."

"I completely agree," Danielle nods, "And, it's actually the future that I came here to talk to you about. I don't know if you remember me telling you this, but I'm hoping to become a healer after graduating." The older woman's face brightens at these words.

"I do remember," She breathes out excitedly, "And, as I recall, you showed great potential."

"Thank you," Danielle says appreciatively, "I'm already taking all the required classes that I need N.E. in, but I was wondering if you could tell me about what I can do after I finish school. Are there specialties schools that I need to apply for to continue my education? Or do I need to sign up for some sort of mentoring program or apprenticeship?"

"Well, of course there are other schools around that specialize in training for certain careers," Madam Pomfrey beings, "But you're better off going to the ministry and applying for one of their programs. Those other places are privately owned so the degree you'll get won't be accepted at most wizarding hospitals; at least in Europe. The ministry's curriculum is considered to be much more credible since they only take in students with the very highest N.E.W.T scores. They get applicants from all over the world too, so it's extremely competitive. But, if you get in, you're pretty much guaranteed a job once you're certified." Danielle was listening intently to everything she was being told, but her stomach was starting to act up again. Why did she have to get nauseous now?

"So, do you get hands on experience in these ministry programs?" she asks as she fights off her sick feeling.

"Well, sort of" The nurse explains, "They'll have you doing some stuff, but I recommend finding a healer to shadow while you work toward your degree. You'll learn a lot faster, and it'll look better on your resume when you have more experience."

"Okay," Danielle swallows hard and tries to think of anything but the queasy feeling in her belly. "And uh, how would you… well, who should I…" It was no use. Her stomach gave a lurch and before she could process what had happened, Danielle was on her knees disposing of last night's dinner in the small trash can in the corner.

"Good heavens! Are you alright?" Madam Pomfrey hurried over and knelt down beside her.

"Sorry," Danielle was mortified. "I don't know… why that happened."

"Perhaps we can discuss graduation later," the nurse says, "right now I'd like to ask YOU a few questions."


	78. Part Three: Chapter 5

Part Three: Chapter Five

About a half hour later, Danielle walked out of the hospital wing feeling more shocked and unsure than she had ever been in her entire life. She hadn't been prepared for the diagnosis Madam Pomfrey had made; although she probably should have been. It was so obvious now; with the weird smells, odd cravings, and nausea. Even the return of her nightmares and the occasional stunt in her magic were the results of the changes that were now occurring inside Danielle's body. How on Earth was she supposed to deal with this? This had, at no point, been considered as a plausible scenario for her future. What were her parents, friends, and teachers going to think? Would they even let her stay at Hogwarts like this? Danielle shook her head as she continued to walk. She had to try and keep herself from thinking about too much at once. There were so many things to worry about that Danielle knew she'd explode if she tried to tackle them all at one time. Right now, she just needed to find Draco. But what would _he_ say? The uncertainty made Danielle's stomach turn even more. When she finally got to the entrance to the Slytherin dorms, she had to just sit and wait because she didn't know the password. After a few moments she began to wring her hands nervously. She wondered if it was even logical for her to be this afraid to tell Draco. It wasn't like he could blame her. He was just as responsible as she was, right? Luckily (or unluckily), it wasn't long before someone emerged from the passageway. Of course, that someone had to be Pansy Parkinson.

"Emmings," Was the first thing from the girl's mouth. She eyed Danielle cautiously as if she already knew why the girl was there.

"Pansy," Danielle nods, feeling awkward about seeing the Slytherin girl again. The last time they'd crossed paths was in the same classroom she'd just dreamt about the night before. The classroom where she'd been taken after being captured by the death eaters during the final battle and the classroom where she'd watched Blaise take his final breath. Pansy had been there too. The experience had been horrible for both of them.

"I'm assuming you're here to see Draco?" Pansy asks then with a look of slight annoyance. Apparently after all they'd been though Pansy was still a little bitter about Danielle being closer with the guy she had been hoping to marry than she was.

"Yeah, is he still sleeping?" Danielle asks. Pansy frowns as she watches the Ravenclaw girl fidget in front of her.

"I'll go get him," She concedes after a moment and turns around to go back inside. Hardly half a minute passed before the passageway opened again to reveal a happy looking Draco. Upon seeing the broad smile on his face, Danielle began to feel panicked. What if this completely ruined their friendship? What if Draco didn't want to trouble himself and decided to leave Danielle to deal with everything alone? That would be awful.

"Hey!" Draco's grin widens at her which makes Danielle feel even worse. She tries to force herself to smile back and Draco notices, "Are you ok?" he asks. Danielle opens her mouth to speak but finds that she can't respond, so she merely shakes her head instead. "What's wrong?" Draco asks looking concerned now, "Are you still sick?"

"I just…" Danielle's throat constricted as her emotions began to get overwhelming. What if Draco took her news very badly? They had just gotten back onto good terms and now they were being thrown into another crisis. "I just need to tell you something"

"Ok…" was the skeptical reply, "What is it?"

"I can't say it here," Danielle manages to get out, "can we go somewhere else?"

"Lead the way," Draco tells her before following Danielle as she turns to leave the dungeons and climb up the stairs to the castles upper levels. Her nerves began to spread to Draco as they go and he begins questioning her.

"Does this involve Finnegan? Did he say something to you about the other day?" He asks as Danielle leads him along, "Or did something happen with one of those other kids?" Danielle just shakes her head. "Does it have to do with that though? Have you decided that we have to stop being friends or something?"

"Hold on," Danielle tells him as they finally reach the seventh floor hallway where the room of requirement was located. The door appeared and the two made their way into the tiny living room. Draco was extremely frustrated now and couldn't wait any longer. "Will you please just tell me what's going on?" He asks impatiently but his face instantly softened when he noticed the unshed tears in Danielle's eyes as she turns around to look at him. He had only seen her cry one other time, and that had been during the final battle. He hadn't thought much of it then since he too had been an emotional wreck, but seeing Danielle so vulnerable now unnerved him. He put a hand on her shoulder only to discover that she was trembling a little. "Sit down," he ordered and pushed her into one of the big comfy chairs. "Now, tell me what's wrong."

"I'm just nervous," Danielle says quietly.

"What? Why?" Draco stands in front of her looking extremely confused. "You said you had to tell me something, so just say it."

"I'm… uh" Danielle felt like the words were suffocating her. They were grabbing her tongue so that they couldn't fall out. She wished she was braver, but the fear of Draco's reaction was holding her back. "I just saw Madam Pomfrey."

"About working with her after graduation?" Draco asks looking perplexed about the topic and Danielle nods. "What did she say?"

"She said I was pregnant," Danielle blurts out and Draco laughs at the randomness of her answer. The smile fades though when he realizes the tears from before had begun to leak out of the corners of Danielle's eyes. Danielle watched the color drain from Draco's cheeks as he widens his eyes and lowers them down to her stomach. "I'm sorry," Danielle says without thinking but Draco just bends down to wrap his arms around her in a tight hug. It was a bit of an awkward angle since Danielle was sitting and Draco was standing, but Danielle didn't mind. She welcomed the embrace even though it didn't make sense to her.

"Why are you hugging me?" She asks after a moment.

"Because you're upset," Draco answers as he pulls away; keeping his eyes locked on her. "That's what we do right? We hug each other when one of us is upset?"

"Didn't you hear me?" Danielle asks sounding annoyed now, "PREGNANT: as in, there is a practically microscopic cluster of cells destined to be a child inside of my womb!"

Draco laughs a little, "Wow… okay, I understood that. But does that mean I can't hug you or something?"

"Yes! That is what it means! Hugging isn't the reaction I was expecting! You don't even look surprised!" Danielle was yelling even though she wasn't really angry. She was just scared. She hadn't been sure how Draco would react, but this was definitely not it. He seemed almost completely unfazed.

"I am surprised!" Draco says honestly. "I'm shocked… I can't believe it. But, that doesn't matter right now. I'm surprised. But you're upset. You're shaking! Are you going to be alright?"

"No!" Danielle shouts as she looks down at her stomach in disgust. "I feel… weird… and a little violated." Draco frowns.

"Well … I'm sorry I ever touched you then," he says looking a little hurt.

"No! I don't feel violated by you! I feel violated by the thing that is now growing inside of me! I didn't want it there!" Danielle continues to shout as she points at her stomach. A small grin appears on Draco's face and he squats down so that he is looking at the place Danielle was gesturing too.

"You hear that? Your mother never gave you permission to exist! I'm going to have to ground you!" He pretends to be stern as he lectures Danielle's tummy. She lets out a half laugh half sob.

"Oh my god! Don't say the 'M' word!" She pleads with tears still in her eyes. Draco looks up at her in concern. "How can you even joke about this right now?" She asks him sadly.

"I don't know," He admits with a heavy sigh. "I guess it doesn't even feel real. Are you sure Pomfrey was right? I mean … just from the one time?"

"One time _is_ all it takes!" Danielle groans, "I feel like an idiot."

"Don't… I'm the one that started it," Draco says sounding ashamed.

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly stop you" Danielle points out. She felt like she was living an episode of teen mom. How embarrassing. "You know," She continues, "I always worry about everything, just like you said before. It just figures that the one time I don't worry, I get punished for it." Draco stayed quiet after that, looking like he wasn't sure how to respond.

"What did Tracy and the others say about this?" He decides to ask after a moment. He was still squatting in front of Danielle's chair with a hand on her leg.

"I told you I just got back from the hospital wing," Danielle sighs, "Nobody else knows yet."

"You told me first?" He asks sounding surprised.

"It _is_ half yours." Danielle tells him as she looks up to meet Draco's eyes, "and I wanted to just discuss everything with you before having everyone else's reactions and advice shoved in my face."

"What do you want to discuss?" Draco asks and Danielle looks down uncomfortably.

"Well first, do we even want to keep the thing?" Danielle has to force the question out. Draco didn't understand what she meant at first, but when he caught on, he narrowed his eyes and his cheeks flushed red.

"What kind of question is that?" He asks furiously. "You aren't suggesting … yes we're keeping it!" Danielle lets out a sigh of relief.

"I don't know what I would have done if you said no," she admits. Accident or not she couldn't even fathom getting rid of it. Draco relaxed then, feeling better that they were both on the same page about that at least.

"Alright," he sighs, "So what else?"

"What else?!" Danielle throws her arms up, "For crying out loud! I'M PREGNANT! We need to start planning or something. What are we going to do about this? How are we going to handle it? I mean, do you think we can do this? Do you even have an opinion at all? Why are you so calm?"

Draco just stares at her for a moment before responding, "I'm calm because I'm not upset about it."

"WHAT?!" Danielle explodes. Draco ignores the outburst.

"I'm not saying I'm happy about it or anything or that I wanted it," He says, "I know this isn't the best time for something like this to happen, and I know it didn't happen under the best circumstances, but I think we can make it work."

"Draco…"

"I know you probably think I'm not taking it seriously or thinking about it logically, but I am" he promises, "I know that there is a lot that we'll have to figure out and talk about, but we don't have to do it all right now. I mean, we just found out about this. I'm still shocked and you're obviously upset. This probably isn't the best time to find more to worry about. I just need to take a step back and let it soak in that I'm going to be a father." A little grin suddenly grows on Draco's face, "I'm going to be a father. And you're going to be…" Danielle narrowed her eyes "… sorry, I forgot about the M word thing. Well, anyway, we're going to be parents. And you never know it might not be so bad. I mean, Professor Slughorn did say we make a great team." Danielle finally cracks a small smile.

"When did you start trying to be all funny?" She asks.

"Today, when I realized that I didn't like seeing you sad," he answers honestly.

"You JUST realized that, did you?" Danielle asks; feigning annoyance.

"Whatever," Draco shrugs before smirking, "Now when people ask you why you like me you can tell them it's because I make you laugh."

"Wow…" Danielle shakes her head in amusement.

"But really though," Draco looks at her, "This is crazy."

"I know, that's what I've been trying to tell you," Danielle smiles at his ridiculousness.

"I've never even seen a real baby before," Draco suddenly admits looking nervous.

"Are you serious?" Danielle asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm an only child and so is my father. My mother has two sisters, but my Aunt Bellatrix never had any children, and the other was disowned so I've never even met her," Draco explains. "I've never seen an actual baby."

"Well…" Danielle looks down at her stomach again, "That'll change soon."

"That's weird," Draco scrunches up his face, "Does this mean you're going to get all big and stuff?"

"Yes…" was the short reply.

"Oh man," Draco seemed like the idea of her getting a big belly was crazier than her actually being pregnant. "When will that happen?"

"Uh," Danielle looks up in thought, "Madam Pomfrey said people usually start showing around the fourth of fifth month so probably around Christmas."

"That's going to be so strange," Draco tells her, "I can't wait."

"I'm going to look like a freak," Danielle crosses her arms.

"No you won't," was Draco's response, "It'll be fun." Danielle just lets out a sigh.

"So, we're really going to do this then?" She asks seriously, "You and I are going to have this thing? We're going to feed it and clothe it and throw it birthday parties: the whole package deal?"

"Correction," Draco says, "We are going to feed, clothe, and throw birthday parties for HIM or HER. I sincerely hope the baby is not born an IT. I don't care if it's a boy or girl but I'm hoping that it's at least one or the other."

"You don't care if it's a girl?" Danielle asks curiously, "I thought you were all about the male heir thing."

"That was my upbringing talking," Draco shrugs. "I really don't have a preference. A son would be nice to have eventually, but it doesn't have to be right away."

"What?" Danielle recoils a bit.

Draco sighs, "I'm just saying that I have my whole life to worry about my family's traditions and obligations. This predicament goes completely against all of that anyway."

"I actually haven't even thought about that yet … what are you going to tell your parents? Is it against the pureblood code to have a Malfoy out of wedlock or what?" Danielle asks.

"Well, I'm fairly certain that we don't have the first Malfoy to ever be conceived outside of marriage." Draco lets out a short laugh, "Usually when this kind of thing happens we'd be forced to get married right away. I know you're probably not up to that so my parents will just have to deal with it. My dad can't do anything since he's locked up anyway. As for my mother, I really can't be sure how she'll react about the whole thing. I have a feeling it'll be one extreme or the other though, as she likes to make a show of everything. What do you think your parents will say?"

"I don't know," Danielle shrugs. "My dad still sort of hates you for the whole arranged marriage thing. I've tried to tell him that it wasn't your fault, and that you had nothing to do with your parent's plans, but he's still wary. I don't think he'll take this news very well. My mother… well, she'll probably feel however I feel. She just wants me to be happy so…"

"But you're not, are you?" Draco asks then, "You aren't happy about this."

"Nobody in their right mind would be happy about this," Danielle points out, "No normal person would be happy to be knocked up."

"You're not knocked up," Draco frowns with disapproval. "Don't say that."

"Well, this wasn't planned, so I sort of am," Danielle frowns back.

"I really don't like how negative that sounds though," Draco confesses. Danielle shrugs and stays silent. "I know this wasn't planned," Draco goes on, "But do we have to treat it like the worst thing that's ever happened? I guess that's why I keep joking about it. I don't want to be miserable anymore. I don't want _you_ to be miserable anymore. I'm not trying to make light of a serious situation, but I just want us to be okay now. This is unexpected and crazy, but I have no problem with stepping up and taking responsibility for it. Whatever we need to do, just tell me, and we'll do it." Danielle just continued to look at Draco for a moment; trying to absorb and analyze everything in his little speech. Instinctively, she wanted to be angry at Draco for not being as distressed over this as she was, but after thinking about it, he did have a valid argument. There was no point in beating themselves up over this by dwelling on the fact that it wasn't a perfect situation. Since they both agreed that they wanted to go through with this, they mind as well try and make the best of it.

"You're right," Danielle finally says as she pushes herself back out of the chair. Draco stood up too. "This isn't the best thing that's ever happened, but it isn't the worst either. I can't promise that I won't still worry about every little thing, or have major freak outs now and again, but I'll do my best to make this seem as little like a crisis as possible." She smiled then to show she was more or less alright for the moment and Draco smiled back before pulling her into another hug.

* * *

"Bloody hell!" Ron's mouth falls open and he completely forgets about his dessert.

"Wow!" Harry gasps. "Cool!" This causes Danielle's brain to stutter to a stop out of confusion.

"But… what? How is that cool?" She asks, "Didn't you hear what I said?" What was with everyone and their weird reactions to her news? Danielle looked to Tracy who just shrugged in amusement. She had received the shocking news earlier that day and was now amused with watching everyone else's reactions.

"Yeah, you're pregnant" Harry grins, "That's exciting! Can I assume that this means you and Malfoy are back together?"

"No!" Danielle retorts, "You many NOT assume that. And why do you look so happy about this?"

"Seriously Harry, this isn't something to joke about." Hermione frowns, "I don't think there has ever been a pregnant student at Hogwarts before! What if it's against the rules? What if Danielle gets expelled?"

"I don't think talking about her getting expelled is any better," Harry points out and Hermione blushes in embarrassment.

"Don't worry; I already thought of that," Danielle reassures them. "Draco and I talked to McGonagall yesterday. She was hesitant at first because of the message I might send to the younger students, but apparently it's common in Europe for witches to start families very soon after coming of age. And since Draco and I would have graduated last year had it not been for the war, McGonagall decided to give us a break. We just had to promise to not let this interfere with our classes or our grades."

"Well, that was decent of her," Harry nods approvingly.

"I just can't believe you're going to have a baby," Hermione was eyeing Danielle's stomach cautiously, "and that it's in there right now." Danielle winced at the reminder. It freaked her out that there was something alive inside of her at all times now too.

"Bloody hell!" Ron says again and Danielle laughs.

"You're the only one having a normal reaction to all of this," She tells him.

"I just can't believe it!" Ron says before scrunching up his face, "If you and Malfoy aren't dating though, how long have you two been … you know… in this other arrangement?" He asks causing Danielle to blush a little.

"They were only 'in an arrangement' once" Tracy tells the group with a smirk, and Danielle covers her face with embarrassment.

"Was it necessary to announce that?" She asks.

"And it happened the first night we got back to the castle," Tracy adds.

"Really?" Danielle had now buried her head into her arms on the table to hide her face. Harry and Ron were laughing hysterically and Hermione was patting Danielle on the head in an attempt to comfort her.

"Uh oh, now Malfoy's coming over here," Harry's laughter subsides as he points to the bright head of white blonde hair moving toward the Gryffindor table. The Slytherin frowned as he approached them.

"What's wrong with her?" He asks the others as he looks down at Danielle, "Is she sick?"

"No," Danielle answers for her friends. She sits back up and turns to Draco, "Just overwhelmed and embarrassed."

"Yeah!" Ron smiles up at his former rival, "We just heard the news!"

"Including all the juicy details about who, what, when, and how" Harry Chuckles. "Now we just need to know where and why."

"In the room of requirement," Draco allows a smirk to grow on his face, "and simply because we were alone and the mood struck." Danielle glares at him for divulging more information about the night they were together, but Draco interprets it as her being mad because part of what he had said had been a lie. "Fine," he sighs dramatically. "We were still both emotional wrecks over the war and on the verge of having mental break downs so we decided that a temporary lapse in judgment to express our feelings and take comfort in one another wouldn't do much harm. Obviously though, we were mistaken." Harry, Ron, Hermione, Tracy, and even Danielle stared up at Draco in astonishment.

"You didn't really have to tell us," Harry is the one to finally break the silence.

Draco shrugs, "I didn't see a reason why I shouldn't."

"How about respect for our privacy?" Danielle offers sarcastically. She wasn't really that annoyed about him giving her friends the reason for their activities the night they got back to school, but it was just ridiculous that their business seemed to be a free for all right now.

"I suppose there is that," Draco lets out a little laugh, "But they already know we did the worst anyway."

"Let's just stop talking about it," Danielle states after that. Ron and Harry were still laughing at her embarrassment though so Hermione decided to step in and change the subject.

"Malfoy, since you're here I'd like to say sorry for the way Seamus and those other students have been treating you," she says. Draco turned his attention onto Hermione and everyone quieted down to see how he would respond to her. Normally, they would expect him to say something harsh and cruel. Hermione was a muggleborn and just because Draco had proved that he wasn't completely evil, it didn't mean he wasn't still prejudiced. Draco clenched his jaw for a moment before speaking.

"Thanks Granger," He tells her. "But I'm afraid I cannot accept your apology." Hermione looked a little hurt and Harry balled his fists on the table; the smile from before morphing into a frown.

"Come on, Malfoy!" Ron urges, "She was just being nice."

"I am aware," Draco responds sounding uncomfortable. "But out of everyone here I believe I deserve her kindness the least."

"The past is exactly that Malfoy," Hermione says bravely. "I see no reason to hold you accountable for things that took place before the war. We've all grown up a lot in the past year and I don't think it's fair to hold a grudge for what we all used to be. I think I can give you a second chance if you're willing to do the same for us." Everyone, including Danielle, eyed Draco then, once again eager for his reply.

"I appreciate your offer Granger," Draco spoke hesitantly after the silence had become unbearable. "I can't promise you anything … but… I will certainly try."

"Well hell!" Ron jumped out of his seat with a huge grin. He leaned across the table and grabbed one of Draco's hands, "Mind as well start now! My name's Ron Weasley by the way! In case you were wondering." Draco was staring at the boy as if he'd gone insane.

"Unnecessary Weasley," Draco frowned as he glared down at his hand which Ron was still shaking. "But sure… I'm Draco Malfoy." When Ron finally seemed satisfied and released Draco, Hermione tentatively held up her hand. Draco sighed in annoyance but took her hand as well.

"Hermione Granger," She smiled and Draco rolled his eyes.

"It's a pleasure," Draco says even though the look on his face suggested otherwise. He pulls his hand away from Hermione and he locks eyes with Harry, "Oh for crying out loud!"

"Just do it," Ron pushes.

Draco looks absolutely disgusted as he puts his hand out for Harry, "The names Draco Malfoy."

"Nice to meet you," Harry says in amusement, "I'm Harry Potter, perhaps you've heard of me."

"Nope," Draco smirks and everyone at the table laughs. The attention causes him to add, "Oh wait … aren't you that annoying scar head that refused to die?"

"Yes actually," Harry laughs before saying, "aren't you that annoying rich daddy's boy?" Draco glares before saying, "the one and only."

"Well now that that's all taken care of," Ron cuts in again. "I think it's time to announce that I'm going to be the baby's godfather." Draco looked over at Danielle accusingly as if she had really started making those types of decisions without him. She shrugged to show that she had no idea what Ron was talking about.

"I think I should be the godfather actually," Harry argues just to piss Draco off.

"Uh uh Harry! You and Malfoy aren't even friends! I'm the godfather!" Ron shoots back.

"You aren't friends with him either!" Harry replies. "Far from it, actually!"

"Yes but I'm best friends with his child's mother's sister!" Ron puffs out his chest proudly.

"I'm the captain of the Quidditch team which his child's mother's sister plays for!" Harry counters. "It should be me!"

"What should be you?" Neville suddenly walks up to the Gryffindor table before frowning, "What is Malfoy doing over here?"

"Nice to see you too, Longbottom" Draco says sarcastically.

"Danielle's just told us that she's pregnant with Malfoy's kid so we're trying to decide who the godfather should be," Ron explains as if this weren't a big deal at all. Neville's eyes widen and his face pales.

"What?!" he gasps.

"Seriously Ron!" Hermione shouts before pulling Neville down next to her on the bench so that he wouldn't fall over in shock "You can't just spring that sort of news on someone like that!"

"You're really pregnant?!" Neville looks over at Danielle in complete shock. She just nods her head warily. She wasn't going to lie to the poor guy.

"Ok, new rule" Draco frowns, "for the time being nobody else is to know about mine and Danielle's … news. If it keeps spreading like this the whole school's going to know. And that mean's Pansy will know which means the whole bloody world will know."

"Oh! Draco's right!" Hermione covered her mouth with her hands, "remember what happened when they got engaged? It was in the papers and everything!"

"People are going to know eventually." Harry points out, "She can't hide it forever."

"Well we are going to hide it for now," Draco says sternly before looking at Hermione, "and I never said you could call me by my first name."

"Not this again…" Tracy says sounding irritated.

"Yeah for real! What is your son going to think when his godfather calls his dad by his last name?" Ron folds his arms.

"First of all Weasley…"

"Ron." The red head interrupts.

"First of all, RONALD" Draco smirks and Hermione giggles, "you are not the godfather. And second, how do you know it's a boy and not a girl?"

"I just have a feeling," Ron says seriously, "a god father-ish feeling."

"You've got to be kidding me," Draco groans as he massages his temples theatrically.

"Well I don't think you need to worry about the gender yet," Harry shrugs. "It's like… microscopic right now. It's probably a neither."

"Actually it's not microscopic," Danielle says. "I'm four weeks along so it'll be the size of a poppy seed by now."

"A POPPY SEED?!" Neville grimaces causing Harry and Ron to laugh at him. Danielle pats the poor guy on the back though because she felt disturbed by those types of facts too.

"Either way, we're done talking about the poppy seed!" Draco grinds his teeth, "Like Granger mentioned a moment ago, if this news falls into the wrong hands it could end up in the daily prophet. Danielle and I need to handle this situation delicately."

"Alright," Harry agrees, "But just so you know… you are free to sit here with us at meals if you want." Danielle laughed a little at her friends attempt at being subtle.

"That is completely random and off topic," Draco rolls his eyes, "But sure Potter, the same goes for you at the 'bad kids' table" The Slytherin then turns to Danielle, "Anyway, before everything got blown out of proportion I had only come over to make sure you were feeling alright. And, I know you have to go see madam Pomfrey again tomorrow. Do you want me to come?"

"We're just going to go through my medical history and talk about what vitamins I need to start taking. I don't think it's going to be very interesting but you can come if you want," Danielle shrugs feeling awkward about his offer for some reason.

"I do," he says and then looks back to the Gryffindors with a smirk. "It was nice meeting you," He tells them before turning around and walking away.

* * *

**A/N: As usual, I would like to thank everyone who has left me reviews! It is greatly appreciated.**

**Also, there were a lot of mixed feelings about Danielle being preggers. I expected this, and to be honest, I was hesitant to even write this into the story. I agree with a lot of your concerns, but I would like you to trust me. Adding a baby into the mix isn't my way of getting Danielle and Draco together, nor am I trying to be cliche. The simple explanation for this is that... I like challenging my characters. It may seem cruel, but I like giving Danielle obstacles to overcome. I want to show what a strong person she really is, and that she can break sometimes too. The plot to part three does NOT solely revolve around her being pregnant. There is so much more coming so I'd like to ask you to give this crazy twist a chance. Thank you guys!**


	79. Part Three: Chapter 6

Part Three: Chapter Six

"I can't believe Slughorn gave us 50 house points each for that Veriteserum we made a few weeks ago," Danielle smiles proudly as she walks out of potions with Draco and Tracy. "He said it was even strong enough to send off to the ministry for them to use."

"Oh yes," Draco says sarcastically, "And I'm sure the minister will find something truly important to use it for."

"You don't like Tiberius McLaggen, either?" Tracy asks the boy curiously. "Harry absolutely detests him."

"The guy was only allowed to take office because of his close friendships with the head of the Auror department and previous minister," Draco sneers in disgust. "He's hardly the best person to lead the wizarding world after a war. Him AND his family are all just a bunch of brownnosers. They don't care about anyone but themselves."

"Oh, you're one to talk," Tracy quirks an eyebrow at the boy. Draco bristles at the accusation.

"The McLaggen's are shameless about it though," he defends himself. "Tiberius's nephew actually started hitting on Granger a few years back to try and get in with Potter so that he'd let him on the Quidditch team."

"Okay, that is a little pathetic," Tracy admits before stopping in front of the main staircase in the castle's entrance hall. She turned to Danielle, "I'm going to go see what Harry is up to." She says, "I'll see you in charms later?" Danielle nods before turning away with Draco to head outside to go walk around by the lake. She was starting to regret missing the Hogsmead trip the previous weekend. Hogwarts students didn't get many opportunities to leave the castle, and since it would be getting cold soon, Danielle wanted to take advantage of the nice autumn weather before she'd be stuck inside all the time.

"The first Quidditch match is this Saturday," Draco says just to break the silence after a few moments, "Slytherin against Gryffindor."

"Trust me, I know" Danielle lets out a laugh, "My sister has talked of little else since the schedule was put up."

"Yeah, well tell her not to get her hopes up too much. I doubt the game will be very action packed," Draco looks down, "I just hope Potter and the others don't gloat too much once they see how terrible the Slytherin team is this year."

"They know it isn't your fault," Danielle tells him seriously as they finally reach the edge of the black lake and sit down. "Slytherin house hardly has any students left. I'm impressed you were able to get a team together at all." Draco just shrugs as a response and they fall into silence again.

"Thank you, by the way" Danielle says after a few minutes, "For being nice to Harry, Ron, and Hermione the other day." Draco turns his gaze away from the lake to look at Danielle.

"Like I told Granger," He says, "I can't promise that we're all going to be best friends or anything, but I will do my best to be civil."

"Well I appreciate that," Danielle replies truthfully before changing the subject. "Do you really think they'll put it in the paper if it gets out that I'm… you know?"

"Pregnant? Yes," Draco says confidently, "and I'm certain that people won't look at this as positively as they did our engagement. The main reason I was pardoned after the war was because Potter stood up for me. At that point, the ministry wasn't going to deny him anything so they honored his request to let me and my mother go free. But as you've witnessed, there are plenty of people who still think I got off too easy. Everyone knows I let the death eaters in the night Dumbledore was killed, everyone knows I have the dark mark on my arm, and everyone knows I stayed at Malfoy Manor during the war, kneeling at the dark lord's feet and doing his bidding just like the rest of the death eaters. I'm afraid that if people find out that you're pregnant with my child, your reputation will be ruined too."

"People already know I was engaged to you," Danielle points out, "They probably think I still am. So, will this really be that big of a deal?"

"It's been almost two years since it was announced that we were engaged," Draco sighs, "The excitement has died down and most people have probably forgotten about it completely. If the prophet decides to remind them though, they could twist the information to say whatever they want. You said yourself that you don't want to be known as a death eater's wife, and I'm sure they could describe you in far worse ways than that."

"I don't particularly care how the prophet describes me," Danielle's face turns stern. "It's not like they aren't known for being habitual liars over there anyway."

"Even though that's true, you should still be careful about how you are portrayed not only to the magical community here in England, but to the ministry as well," Draco frowns as he speaks. "They're the ones that are going to train you and help you find a career after graduation. If you get on the ministry's bad side, they won't hesitate to deny you access to their resources."

"I'd love to see them try to deny me anything," Danielle replies with a look of irritation. "If they do I'll fight it! My grades are perfect, and I haven't done anything wrong. Yes, it's true you have the dark mark and that you let death eaters into Hogwarts but that's all irrelevant. The ministry themselves cleared you of all that. There is no reason that I should be denied a job just because I'm having a kid with you."

"Out of wedlock," Draco points out, "While also still attending school."

"Big deal," Danielle folds her arms. "The ministry isn't perfect either. I hope they haven't forgotten that they've done their fair share of interaction with individuals with less than pleasant backgrounds. At least I haven't accepted bribes or given high raking influential political positions to death eaters before; which, by the way, is the reason Voldemort was able to take over so easily in the first place. I fail to see how my situation can be so unforgivable compared to that."

"Hey, you're preaching to the choir" Draco holds up his hands in surrender, "I know it's ridiculous. I just want you to be aware of the situation we're in. The ministry is going to see whatever it is they want to see. And the truth is that there are many ways that this can be used against you."

"Well, let's just hope that if we keep this whole thing on the down low they'll leave us alone," Danielle sighs, "Because if they try and pick a fight with me… they WILL lose." Draco loosens up and lets out a small laugh at this. He had always admired Danielle's ability to put on a brave face, and meet her opponents head on even when the odds were drastically against her. He envied her passion for doing the right thing no matter what the circumstances.

"You're absolutely nuts sometimes, woman" He shakes his head in amusement.

"That's alright. Just be glad it's not hereditary" was Danielle's response. The comment triggers a large grin to spread onto Draco's face.

"You hear that?" he asks, looking down toward Danielle's stomach, "There's hope for you yet."

"Hey," Danielle frowns, suddenly becoming defensive. "I'm not the only one who might have added insanity into the mix. And you don't need to talk to my belly like that, you know. The thing won't be able to hear you until I at least hit the four month mark."

"The thing?" Draco fights back a scowl. He didn't like when she referred to the baby in such a disconnected and unemotional way. Danielle only shrugs at his comment though so he continues, "I've read that it helps fathers feel more like the whole thing is real if they talk and try to bond with the child while it's still in the womb."

Danielle cringes a little at this, "Has that been an issue for you?"

"Well, I know it's real, but it doesn't quite feel like it when I can't really see the signs." Draco explains, "You aren't showing yet, and I don't get morning sickness or cravings or anything else."

"Well rub it in why don't you?" Danielle scrunches up her face.

"Sorry," He apologizes. "It's just different for me."

"I know," Danielle looks down at her hands. She was starting to become a little uncomfortable with the conversation. She had no problem talking about the baby objectively; making plans, discussing options and things like that. It was the actual emotions involved and personal feelings towards the whole thing that freaked her out, especially where Draco was concerned. It freaked her out a little that he was still so calm about the whole ordeal.

"Well, I just feel bad about it" Draco blurts out after a moment. "I know this isn't easy for you." Danielle shrugs again so Draco goes on, "You'll let me know if you ever need anything, right?"

"You don't have to baby me," Danielle says a little harshly causing Draco to recoil a bit.

"That isn't what I'm trying to do," He tries to explain. "I just want to be involved, and I want to do whatever I can to make this better for you."

"You don't have to do anything," Danielle states.

"Okay, I know that I don't have to do anything" Draco says; starting to sound frustrated, "but I want to."

"I know," was the short reply. Danielle could tell that Draco was starting to get irritated with her for being so dismissive, but she couldn't help it. She felt uneasy when Draco started talking to her in this way about the baby, all gentle and reassuring, as if she were fragile or something. She knew that they agreed to do this together, but she didn't need him trying to take care of her all the time. She didn't want him coddling her. She knew that he was only trying to be nice though, so after a moment of silence she spoke up again. "What you've already been doing is fine," She tells him. "And, of course I'll let you know if I need help with anything else."

"Thank you," Draco smiles at her gratefully. He must have finally realized that Danielle didn't want to talk about the baby anymore too because after that he changed the subject and began asking her about how tough she thought their N.E.W.T exams would be at the end of the year.

* * *

"Are you sure you're ok?" Neville asks Danielle as they head up into the Quidditch stands with Tracy and Hermione to watch the match between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

"Neville…" Danielle sighs in annoyance as she climbs the stairs, "Pregnant doesn't mean dying. I can walk without miscarrying you know."

"Danielle!" Hermione shouts in outrage, "Don't say stuff like that."

"I'm only joking." Danielle reassures while slightly rolling her eyes, "You don't have to freak out."

"I'm sorry," Hermione sighs. "The idea of something like that happening though is just so horrible! I don't know what I'd do if something happened to the baby."

"Yeah, that would be really bad!" Neville frowns.

"You all sound so attached to it already," Danielle lets out a sigh of relief as she plops down on one of the wooden benches in the Quidditch stands between Tracy and Hermione. It was embarrassing how exhausted she was from just walking up the stairs. She knew the fatigue was normal, but it was strange since she hadn't even put on any weight yet.

"It's hard not to get attached," Tracy pokes her friend in the arm. "We all care about you so it's only natural that we'd quickly grow to care about your offspring!" Danielle laughed a little at the word 'offspring.' Tracy had been coming up with all sorts of synonyms to describe the being now inside of her friend since she knew Danielle felt weird about the word 'baby.'

"You and Draco must feel bonded with it already too, right?" Hermione asks curiously.

"I think Draco does," Danielle says honestly. "He likes to talk to it."

"No way!" Neville says in disbelief, "Malfoy really does that?"

"Don't tell him I told you," Danielle says quickly. "He'd be embarrassed."

"That's really cute though," Tracy laughs. "I can't even picture him doing that."

"Me either," Hermione smiles lightly. "I guess he really is a big softy after all."

"Which reminds me," Tracy looks to her fellow Ravenclaw curiously, "Have you or Draco gotten any responses back from either of your parents yet?"

"Draco hasn't received anything back from his mother," Danielle explains. "But I got a letter from my mom this morning. She's shocked, of course, but I think mostly she's apprehensive to react too strongly in any one way. The last time she saw me I was still incredibly withdrawn and depressed because of the war, she probably doesn't want to upset me further by saying she's angry or disappointed with me. She basically just asked a bunch of questions about what this meant for Draco and me, and what we were doing to try and deal with everything. I think she's worried about me. She wanted to know if I wanted her to come over here to help me figure stuff out."

"That might not be such a bad idea," Hermione says.

"No, I couldn't ask her to do that" Danielle waves her hand, "She's been moved around enough over the last two years because of me. And it's not like I don't have people here to help me out or nobody to talk to. I have you guys, of course. And Madam Pomfrey has been wonderful."

"Have you heard from your dad at all?" Tracy asks then.

"Uh, no" Danielle looks down at her hands. "I know he got my letter though. My mom says he's pretty upset."

"I wouldn't worry too much," Neville pipes in to everyone's surprise. "I imagine he's probably just really confused and really worried. The Malfoys tricked him into arranging his daughter into a marriage with their death eater son and then held her captive in their home which just so happened to serve as Lord Voldemort's main hide out during a war. It's no wonder he's upset. He doesn't understand why Danielle would spend any more time with Malfoy after everything that's happened, and now she's having a kid with him. He's probably really worried that Danielle was manipulated again or something. I think he'll come around through once he sees how smitten Malfoy is with Danielle, and how serious he is about doing everything he can to take care of her and the baby."

"Neville's right." Hermione looks to Danielle, "I think your father will be more accepting of everything once he understands the situation better."

"Draco is not smitten with me!" Danielle declares.

"Is that the only part of Neville's speech that you heard?" Tracy rolls her eyes at her friend.

"I heard it all," Danielle looks to the Gryffindor boy apologetically. "I just don't want things being exaggerated."

"Oh Danielle, Neville only means that Draco has been nothing but supportive in all of this" Hermione tries to calm the girl down.

"No," Tracy corrects, while eyeing her best friend. "Neville means that Draco has become completely enthralled by you. You're just too stubborn to see it."

"Let's not fight about it, okay?" Neville says looking guilty, "I didn't mean to upset anyone. Let's just watch the game."

"You didn't upset anyone," Tracy smiles at him reassuringly. "Danielle's just moody because of the hormones."

"Oh wow, that's nice" Danielle folds her arms in mock annoyance, "Let's just watch the game like Neville said."

After the game, Danielle was attacked by her younger sister who came running out from the Gryffindor locker rooms with a huge grin.

"We won! We won!" She chanted as she practically tackled her sister, "Did you see me score that goal?"

"Abby! Be careful!" Neville says nervously as he pulls the girl away from her sister a little.

"I'm not made of glass!" Danielle reprimands him before smiling at her sister, "If I'm not mistaken I saw you score three goals." Abby just grinned widely and began dancing around the group in victory.

"Nice job getting that snitch Harry!" Tracy smiles as she places a kiss on her man's cheek. Harry thanked her before putting his arm around her waist so that they could all make their way back up to the castle for dinner.

"Ron, you made some great saves today too," Neville nods over to his fellow Gryffindor who turned red at the praise.

"Don't inflate his ego too much, Longbottom" Draco suddenly appears alongside them in his green Slytherin Quidditch Uniform. "He was only playing against a bunch of pathetic first years."

"Are you seriously making fun of your own team?" Tracy gasps in mock horror.

"There is nothing I could say to twist the truth enough to make those kids brag worthy," Draco admits, "So I'll just have to be content with making fun of you guys for feeling proud of yourselves for winning against them."

"That actually really sucks," Ron sighs as he looks to Draco with a frown. "You guys had a pretty good team before with Nott and Zabini. Even Crabbe and Goyle weren't terrible beaters."

"Well, half of them are dead and one was arrested," Draco lets out a dry laugh, "And I couldn't tell you what happened to Goyle."

"That's horrible," Hermione frowns, "I'm sorry about all of your friends, Draco."

"Draco?" Abby scrunches up her nose as she looks at Hermione.

"Yes mini Emmings, I feel exactly the same way." Draco crosses his arms, "when has the use of my given name become a free for all?"

"Um, I don't know." Tracy says sarcastically, "Maybe when it was given to you in the first place. It is your name for a reason. It is what people are supposed to call you."

"Don't worry about it Tracy," Harry smirks. "If he prefers us to go back to "that git", "ferret boy", and … what was that other one Hermione?"

"Foul, loathsome, evil little cockroach?" she offers with a tiny smile.

"Yes, if he wants us to refer to him as that than that is his choice," Harry finishes.

"You know Potter. You are really starting to push your luck," Draco says but his voice is void of malice.

* * *

"I can't believe my sister is preggo!" Abby slams her quill down on the table in the study area where she was sitting with Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Tracy. The four older students looked up from their own homework in amusement. Abby had only just found out that morning about her sister's secret and now she was all hyped up on the shock and excitement.

"You really shouldn't be saying that so loudly," Hermione eyes the younger Gryffindor sternly. "Your sister and Draco wouldn't be very pleased if anybody they didn't want knowing found out."

"Well what's the big deal?" Abby throws her hands out dramatically, "They're practically dating anyway. It isn't like anybody is going to be that surprised."

"You seem pretty worked up over it," Ron laughs causing Abby to stick her tongue out at him playfully.

"And you know" Harry brings up, "According to your sister, she and Draco aren't practically dating at all."

"Yeah, what is up with that anyway?" Abby scrunches up her face, "They hang out all the time and now they are having a kid; they obviously like each other. Why don't they just go out already?"

"I know, I don't get it either" Ron agrees.

"I think their relationship might be more complicated than you guys are making it out to be," Hermione tells them honestly. "Those two are still trying to come to terms with and sort out everything they went through together during the war. Their feelings are all mixed up which is how the baby got brought into the picture in the first place. And a child only makes things more confusing for them. Of course, there's also Draco's past to think about too, and his prominent place in the wizarding world that unfortunately draws a lot of attention, both positive and negative, from the public."

"Who cares about the public," Abby says looking annoyed. "Who cares what anyone thinks? My sister and Malfoy should just do what they want. That's what they always seem to do anyway. If they like each other than that's their business, right?"

"Well, yeah" Tracy shrugs, "But you have to remember that not everybody is going to forgive the things Draco has done as quickly as we have. I mean, can you imagine how Seamus will react to all of this when he finds out?" Abby's eyes grow wide at the thought.

"Oh," She says. "Yeah, he isn't going to be very happy with my sister, is he? He doesn't like Malfoy."

"A lot of people don't like him," Hermione frowns, "Which means a lot of people aren't going to be very happy with your sister. That's why the two of them don't want the whole world to know about the baby yet."

"I still think they should just ignore everyone else though," Abby crosses her arms. "They should just be together if that is what makes them happy."

"That's a whole different issue," Harry gives the young girl a small smile. "Your sister doesn't seem to think her and Malfoy getting together is even an option at this point."

"Of course it's an option," Abby shakes her head. "It's the most obvious option!"

"It isn't obvious to your sister, I guess" Hermione shrugs.

"Well she's weird then," Abby declares, "Because if I went through all the trouble to protect someone like my sister did for Malfoy, and then got pregnant with their child, I would definitely think that maybe I belong with that person."

"I don't think it's that simple," Hermione sighs.

"It was that simple for Tracy and Harry," Abby points out. "They liked each other so they got together. They didn't care what anyone thought."

"Tracy and I don't have nearly as complicated a background as Danielle and Malfoy though," Harry tells the girl. "The two of us never hated each other, neither of us were ever a death eater, and there wasn't really any reason for anybody to object to us dating. We were always on the same page. Your sister and Malfoy have had to fight tooth and nail to get to where they are now."

"Well maybe they need to continue fighting," Tracy offers seriously, "to get to the spot they need to be."

"How are we supposed to get them to do that though?" Ron asks looking skeptical, "How are we supposed to make Danielle work for something she doesn't even want?"

"I don't think Danielle knows what she wants," Tracy replies honestly. "So, maybe we should find out what Draco wants and work from there."

"I don't think he'd talk to us about what he wants," Harry says.

"I never thought he'd shake my hand and have a whole conversation with me without insulting me," Ron brings up. "But here we are."

"He has a point," Abby nods at Ron, "Maybe he will open up to us if we offer to help him get what he wants."

"Or maybe he'll get angry at us for pushing our luck with him," Hermione raises an eyebrow at her friends.

"That is also a possibility," Harry nods before smiling mischievously, "But when has a plan with the potential to backfire ever stopped us before?"

"Very true," Ron agrees, "And the worst thing that could happen is Malfoy trying to act all superior by calling us silly names like Potty and Weasel." Tracy and Abby laughed, but Hermione still didn't seem convinced.

"I just don't want to ruin the small understanding we've been able to establish between us and Draco so far," She admits.

"Think about it Hermione," Harry tells her, "This is us and Malfoy we're talking about. No matter what we do, we're always going to bug him at least a little. It's just how it works."

"Well, if you're sure this is what you want to do I'm not going to stop you," Hermione sighs. "I just hope you know what you're doing."

"We're not doing this for fun," Ron tells her then. "We're doing this to try and help him and Danielle figure out their feelings for each other."

"Right," Abby nods her head eagerly. "And maybe if everything works out, my sister can feel a little bit better about having this baby."

"If we could achieve that I'd be really happy," Tracy admits. "She's not accepting her impending motherhood very well."

"No," Hermione agrees. "I suppose when you put it that way I can see how it may be helpful for us to talk with Draco. Once we know what his intentions for Danielle and the baby are, perhaps we can help him express his feelings a little better. If we stand behind him perhaps Danielle can, with better confidence, make a decision about Draco after knowing that we trust him and support him completely."

"It's worth a shot," Tracy replies. "And like Abby was saying, the worst Draco could do is tell us to bugger off."


	80. Part Three: Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey Guys, sorry it's taking me a while to post chapters. My house is nuts right now because we're getting new carpet put in. All my furniture from my bedroom is scattered all over the house and everything is crazy and hectic. Thanks for being patient though. I hope you all are enjoying Part Three!**

Part Three: Chapter Seven

Danielle and Tracy were sitting in the Ravenclaw common room that night with some of their other housemates when a small girl with long blonde hair walked in, causing everyone to pause the conversation and redirect their attention.

"Luna!" Danielle smiled happily when she realized it was her fellow Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Luna was a year younger than Danielle and Tracy, but she had been a vital member of Dumbledore's Army during the war, and an incredible friend. It was great for everyone to see her now because she had been made Head Girl by Headmistress McGonagall which gave her a hefty load of responsibilities on top of her normal class workload and a separate dorm in a different part of the castle, making it difficult for her to find time to socialize with her friends.

"Hello," Luna smiles as she walks into the room and sits comfortably between Tracy and Terry Boot on the large blue sofa, in front of the fireplace.

"We aren't in trouble are we?" Anthony Goldstein, another former DA member and Ravenclaw, asks teasingly.

"Oh no," Luna shakes her head with a small smile, "I was just wondering if any of you had read the daily prophet today." She then reaches into her bag and pulls out a rolled up copy of that day's news.

"No," Cho Chang replies. "Is there something important?" Danielle exchanged a nervous glance with Tracy. She hoped word of her pregnancy hadn't got out already. Nobody was prepared for that amount of attention.

"Well, it's just that there is some sort of decree that Tiberius McLaggen is trying to pass," Luna frowns as she flips through the paper and Danielle lets out a sigh of relief as she continues. "It's a bit silly in my opinion. If it does pass, many of us will be affected." When she finally finds the article, Luna passes the prophet over to Tracy who was sitting closest to her. Danielle felt a little better knowing that her secret was safe, but still wondered what the new minister was going to try and pass as she watched Tracy's eyes scan through the article.

"Unbelievable!" Tracy states irritably before setting the paper down roughly in her lap.

"What is it?" Terry Boot asks impatiently.

"The minister wants to pass a decree forcing all pureblooded witches and wizards over the age of 17 to come into the ministry to be questioned," Tracy explains.

"What?" Danielle exclaims, "Why?"

"He says he wants to ensure the safety of the post war British wizarding community by weeding out any pureblood supremacists that might still be running free," Tracy scrunches up her face as she reads from the article. "Apparently he thinks that, by doing this, everyone can be sure that someone like Voldemort can never rise to power again."

"But that doesn't make any sense at all!" Anthony Goldstein protests, "Purebloods weren't the only ones who supported and joined Voldemort during the war! I mean seriously, Voldemort himself wasn't even a pureblood. His father was a muggle!"

"I know," Luna nods her head as she looks around the room. "I don't think it's fair to single out and punish just purebloods. And if this decree is passed, even purebloods that fought for the light will be interviewed."

"That means we'll have to go in," Tracy frowns as she gestures between herself, Luna, and Danielle. They were the only three pureblooded Ravenclaws that were over seventeen.

"Neville too," Danielle realizes, "And all the Weasleys. There's no way this will get passed. I can't believe the minister would even think to propose something so ridiculous."

"It's an insult to all the purebloods who worked so hard to win freedom from Voldemort's rule," Terry Boot declares. "Some purebloods died trying to protect the rights of muggleborns and everyone else who was being attacked during the war."

"Yeah," Cho folds her arms, "And I doubt any death eaters that managed to avoid arrest after the final batter are going to willingly come in for questioning."

"Unless they send Aurors out to collect anybody who doesn't show up," Anthony suggests.

"Oh great," Danielle throws her hands out, "and now we're back to Voldemort's methods of persecution. This is exactly what the death eaters did to muggleborns after they took over the ministry, remember?"

"You're right!" Tracy gasps, "Next thing you know we'll have snatchers running around again."

"And you know," Anthony Goldstein points out, "This makes all purebloods look suspicious just to have the minister even suggest that they all be questioned. I wonder if that is his intention."

"I'm sure the daily prophet will keep us updated," Luna reminds them before standing back up. "Hopefully there will be a strong enough objection to the decree to force the minister to drop the idea completely."

"I can't imagine many people will support this," Cho says optimistically.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Luna shrugs before moving towards the door. "I'm sorry to leave so soon but I'm supposed to be patrolling the school right now for students out past curfew."

"We understand" Tracy tells the girl, "It was great talking to you though Luna."

"Yeah," Danielle agrees, "Ditch your duties to come visit us more often!" Luna laughs and promises she will before heading out into the hallway again.

* * *

"Is this seat taken?" Tracy laughs when Draco looks up at her in disbelief. She, Harry, and Ron had come over to the Slytherin table for breakfast. With Danielle still up in her room, this was the golden opportunity to have their little talk with Draco.

"You can't be serious," the Slytherin raises his eyebrows in disbelief. He turns around in his seat after a moment to look around the great hall. The fact that Gryffindor war hero and champion of the wizarding world, Harry Potter, was over at the Slytherin table talking to his archrival and former death eater, Draco Malfoy, made many students curious. The duo was attracting a lot of attention. Even the professors were peering over in interest.

"You said before that we could sit here" Harry says, seemingly oblivious to the fact that their conversation was the object of intrigue for nearly all of their peers.

"I know what I said! I just didn't think you had the guts to actually do it!" Draco looked half annoyed and half amazed.

"Gryffindor courage and all that," Ron tries out a smirk, "So can we eat here or not mate?" Draco just nods quickly, and gestures with his hand for them to take a seat across from him. The other Slytherins at the table were looking less than thrilled and slid further away from them towards the ends of the table. Tracy, Harry, and Ron ignored them.

"Where's Danielle?" Draco asks as he looks over his shoulder again to scan the Gryffindor table. He only managed to catch the eyes of Seamus Finnegan though, who was glaring at the Slytherin accusingly as if it were Draco's fault that Harry, Ron, and Tracy were sitting where they were.

"In her room," Tracy frowns, "Nausea again. She didn't think she could look at anything in here and not be sick."

"What about know-it-all Granger?" Draco questioned. He didn't look happy about Danielle being sick again but he couldn't really talk about it out in the open; especially with Pansy Parkinson nearby.

"In the library studying," Harry states as he puts a scoop of broiled potatoes onto the clean plate in front of him. The simple act earned him several sneers and a couple death glares from the Slytherins around him. "Any more questions mother?"

"Yes," Draco snaps, "Why lower yourself by sitting over here? Is annoying me really worth it?"

"I didn't know the father got mood swings too," Ron teased before gulping down his whole goblet of pumpkin juice.

"If you are going to eat here Weasley…"

"Ron."

"Fine… RON! You will not be permitted to eat at this table if you continue to stuff food down your throat like a starving savage." Draco growls in irritation. Tracy gives Ron a stern glare, silently reminding him to behave, before turning back to Draco.

"Look," She says, "We didn't come over here to annoy you; quite the opposite actually. I know you aren't exactly thrilled with the idea of forging a friendship with us, and we don't want to overstep out boundaries, but I think all of our mutual involvement in Danielle's life give us the right to come to you to talk about some concerns we have for her wellbeing."

"So that's why you're here?" Draco frowns, "I still don't understand why we couldn't arrange a time to meet somewhere a little more private if it was so important, or could Potter simply not resist a chance to make a spectacle in order to draw the attention of every soul in the room to himself?"

"Actually we thought coming over here would make a great statement for inter-house unity," Tracy responds, finally looking around the room to gage the reaction of her classmates. "There wasn't ever really an issue of not getting along among the Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs. It's those three house's hostility with Slytherin that was the problem. This is our attempt to bridge the gap and show everyone that you guys aren't so scary."

"Well if that was your intention, I'm sorry that I'm the only one of my housemates to graciously welcome you to the Slytherin table," Draco says with only a small bit of mockery in his voice.

"Don't worry about it," Harry shrugs, "You can't start a revolution overnight, can you? And besides, we figured you could lead the example."

"Oh did you?" Draco asks in amusement, "Well then I find I must apologize once again for disappointing you. I don't know if you've noticed, Potter, but the time where the Malfoy name had any influence has come to an end. My father is a convicted death eater and is now rotting away in a cell at Azkaban, my mother only just escaped that same fate on a mere technicality, and I myself have become a rejected social outcast."

"Well that's cheerful," Ron frowns before stabbing one of the smoked sausages on his plate with a fork and taking a huge bite out of it. Draco curls his lip in irritation before looking down at his own breakfast.

"For all it's worth, Draco," Tracy says softly, "I think you're selling yourself a bit short." Her words were well meant but they were not received warmly by their target. Tracy was talking a little too comfortably for Draco, so he quickly changed the subject.

"So what was it you had to say about Danielle?" He asks a bit harshly.

"We were wondering if you were ever going to ask her out," Harry wastes no more time beating around the bush. Draco could not initially hide his shock at the question but after a second he was able to settle his face into a scowl. He obviously hadn't expected the discussion to go down this road. Tracy clicked her tongue and frowned at her boyfriend's lack of discretion before trying to do damage control.

"With all the uncertainties and problems you and Danielle are going to face in the coming months, we just thought it might be helpful for both of you to come to some sort of understanding about how you feel about each other so that you know how you stand going into this thing," Tracy states.

"Not that it's any of your business, Ross" Draco narrows his eyes a little, "but I think Danielle and I know exactly how we stand."

"Apart then?" Harry challenges. The muscles in Draco's jaw clench and his nostrils flare. He hated being reminded that every time he tried to get closer to Danielle, she'd push him away.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get both Danielle and I through this with as little trouble as possible, Potter" he declares. "That I promise you."

"That doesn't really answer the question though," Harry pushes.

"Yeah," Ron cuts in, "besides, I really think that if you were going to date anyone else you would have done it by now. You spend every moment you can with Danielle so just make the commitment already!" Tracy was looking pretty embarrassed by the conversation at this point. Harry and Ron were being much too forward and she feared their bold behavior would cause Draco to shut them out completely.

"Naturally, I am the sole bearer of blame," Draco rolls his eyes in annoyance. "And I'm guessing that means you haven't approached Danielle about this topic or else we wouldn't even be having this discussion."

"We try to talk to Danielle," Tracy replies before either of the Gryffindor boys could. "But whenever we bring it up, she just gets angry."

"Well perhaps you should take that as a hint of her feelings then," Draco states firmly. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's her that doesn't want to be with me?"

"I don't believe it for a second," Harry says confidently. "She wants to be with you. She just needs a push."

"Well start believing!" Draco says, suddenly avoiding eye contact with his breakfast guests, "Because I did try, as Weasley so eloquently put it, to make the commitment, and I was rejected on the spot." The confession shocked both Harry and Ron into silence.

"What?" Tracy asks in disbelief, "You asked Danielle to be with you and she said no?"

"I really don't care to relive the humiliation by talking about it, Ross" Draco mumbles, his eyes still focused down at his plate.

"Well gosh Malfoy, I'm sorry" Ron says honestly.

"I don't need your pity, RON." Draco looks back up at the red head to give him a pointed look. "Just forget it. Like I said before, Danielle and I know where we stand. And I really hope you all aren't pushing this subject on her like this because I'm pretty sure your meddling is only wedging us further apart." With that, Draco ended the conversation by collecting his things and standing up. "As lovely as this conversation has been," He says, "I really must be off to class now."

* * *

Danielle could tell the moment she walked into the Ravenclaw common room and saw her best friend sitting alone by the fireplace with her arms folded and legs crossed that something was wrong. Tracy had clearly been waiting for her to get back, and by the looks of it, she wasn't very happy.

"Hello," Danielle says cautiously as she walks over and takes a seat in the chair to the right of her friend. When she got no immediate reply she spoke again, "You look annoyed. Did something happen?"

"Yes," Tracy finally responds shortly. "Something did happen." She watched Danielle for some sort of reaction, but when she got nothing but a confused look she continued, "When were you going to tell me that Draco asked you out?"

"What?" Danielle recoils a bit in shock, "I've told you all a million times that Draco and I aren't together."

"Yes, I know," Tracy narrows her eyes, "Because you rejected him."

"Rejected him?" Danielle was honestly confused, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about Draco Malfoy asking you to be his girlfriend and you telling him no," Tracy explains impatiently.

"Where is all this coming from?" Danielle asks then, feeling a little lost. She wasn't sure what had triggered all of these questions. "What brought all this on?"

"Don't try and act like I'm the crazy one," Tracy frowns, "Draco told us about it today so I know that it's true."

"Wait… us?" Danielle questions.

"Yes," Tracy nods, "Me, Harry, and Ron."

"When was this?" Danielle scrunches up her face, "and why?"

"I don't know. WHEN did Draco ask you out?" Tracy challenges, "And WHY did you say no?" Finally something clicked in Danielle's brain and she knew what her friend was talking about; what DRACO had apparently told her about.

"If he was talking about the incident right after the war than you have been misled," She says after a moment, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. It bugged her a little bit that her friends had gone to Draco and talked about her behind her back.

"What incident?" Tracy leans forward eagerly, forgetting her own irritation for a moment in order to satisfy her need for a juicy story.

"When I went back to Malfoy Manor that last time after the final battle, Draco was extremely reluctant to break off our engagement," Danielle explains in a bored tone. "I tried to reassure him that we'd still be friends and everything but he was still skeptical. Finally he just ended up trying to negotiate, saying that he'd take the ring off if I agreed to date him. I told him honestly that that wasn't going to work for me." For a moment, Tracy only gapes in astonishment at her friend; slowly though, her face morphed into a disappointed frown.

"Why are you just now telling me about this?" She asks Danielle with a huff, "Don't you think this is something you should tell your best friend about?"

"It isn't that big of a deal," Danielle shrugs. "I finally got him to take the ring off in the end without any stipulations so there was nothing to tell you."

"Danielle! Draco asked you out! That would definitely be classified as being a big deal!" Tracy throws her hands out, "Especially since he is the father of your unborn child! And why on earth did you turn him down anyway?"

Danielle looked offended by the question. "First of all," She snaps, "he wasn't the father of my unborn child when this all happened. And second, I told him I wasn't going to be his girlfriend because he wasn't asking me out in order to be in an actual relationship with me. He was just used to having me to himself all the time. And since he's a possessive Slytherin with absolutely no willingness to share what he feels is rightfully his with anybody else, he tried to force me into a binding situation so that there wouldn't be any chance of me being anybody's but his even after the constrictions of our engagement and the war were lifted. He asked me out as a last effort to keep me around. It had nothing to do with him having any sort of honest feelings for me, and everything to do with him being selfish and controlling."

"That's a bit harsh," Tracy retorts, "I think he did have feelings for you. He just didn't know how to express them properly."

"Tracy, I was pretty much the only girl he had contact with during the war" Danielle explains with a dry laugh. "And think of how I treated him during that time. I comforted him when he was upset and healed him when he was hurt. Of course he thought he had feelings for me. There was nothing else around him to have feelings for."

"Even if that was true then, it isn't anymore" Tracy says hopefully, "The war is over and we are back at school where there are plenty of other decent people for Draco to be around. He could be with anybody he wants, yet he still chooses to be around you."

"Maybe because I'm carrying his child," Danielle offers, looking annoyed. She knew that Draco really liked her, and that his feelings were genuine, but she hated that everyone was using it as an excuse to try and sway HER feelings.

"Or maybe because he actually likes you," Tracy grins. "Maybe because you're the only one who's ever seen anything more in him than either a good business investment or an enemy. And maybe it's because you're the only person he's ever met that hasn't just taken him at face value, but instead encouraged him to be his own person." Danielle still looked a bit unsure after this so Tracy continued, "Look, you're never going to be able to separate Draco from the circumstances that forced you together like the war, the engagement, and now the baby. You're going to have to look past all those things and realize that maybe underneath it all you two really do belong together."

"Belong together?" Danielle repeats in distaste. She hated clichés like that. "I understand what you're saying," She tells Tracy. "But Draco and I have never really had the chance to just be friends, and I think that's important. Regardless of whether or not he and I 'belong together' I still believe we should take some time to just get to know each other better under more relaxed conditions. I don't want to make things more complicated than they need to be right now."

Tracy just looked at her friend in silence for a moment as she let the words sink in. "Fine," Tracy sighs. "I can understand your logic, but I need to know something." Danielle nods to show she was listening. "Are you saying all this in the hopes that eventually we'll all just drop the subject and leave you alone, or do you honestly think that one day you and Draco can take things to the next level and live happily ever after?"

Danielle shifted nervously in her chair before answering "I do care about Draco," She says honestly, "A lot."

"But?" Tracy frowns, knowing there was more to Danielle's answer.

"But I have a million different conflicting hopes, thoughts, feelings, and concerns swirling around inside my head… and my heart… right now," the girl admits, finally opening up a little. "I can't tell you for certain what will happen because I don't know myself. And it's those uncertainties that keep me from making any rash decisions."

"There are always going to be uncertainties though," Tracy tells her friend softly. "I know you know that, but I just want you to remember it when considering how you feel about Draco. Don't just shut him out because it seems like the safest option because if you aren't careful … I think you might really hurt him."

Danielle felt a pang in her chest at this statement because she knew it was true. Draco was vulnerable when it came to her because she was the only person he had ever opened up to. She was the only one that could really hurt his feelings because she was the only one with access to them. Tracy noticed her friend's features soften and adds, "I know you want to come to your own conclusions about Draco so I'm not going to pressure you anymore … Just please don't be stubborn at the disposal of yours or Draco's feelings."

"It's our feelings that I'm scared for," Danielle tells her friend quietly. It scared her to be so honest, even if it was just Tracy.

"Well," Tracy sighs, "trusting another person with your feelings is hard. But I think if you're going to take the risk with anyone, it should be Draco. I know if I had said that a year or so ago it would sound ridiculous but the guy has seriously proven his loyalty to you; at least in my opinion. He's had countless opportunities to sell you out to his parents and to Voldemort; opportunities that would have been extremely beneficial to him, but he always chose to protect you instead. I mean, he even saved your life during the final battle when he really wasn't supposed to. And I don't know if I would have ever found you in time if he hadn't helped me." Danielle grimaced a little at the reminder of the horrors she'd lived through during the war.

"Yeah…" She shifts in her seat again, not really knowing how to respond "well…"

"I'm just saying that you should really give him a shot," Tracy says to save her friend from her discomfort. "I understand you want to wait until you're more confident about your own feelings, and that's fine, just make sure your expectations for him and yourself are reasonable."

"I know," Danielle nods, "You're right."

"Of course I'm right," Tracy smirks slightly before standing up suddenly. "Now, I think you ought to get to bed because I'm pretty sure you have an appointment with madam Pomfrey bright and early tomorrow morning."

"Oh joy," Danielle groans at the reminder as she also pushes herself out of her seat "I can hardly wait."

"Come on now," Tracy says sternly. "At least pretend to be interested in the progress of your fetus."

Danielle shakes her head at her friend, "Maybe I'd be more enthusiastic if I didn't have sore boobs, nausea, and the need to pee all the time." Tracy frowns before patting her friend on the arm sympathetically.

"Well," She says optimistically, "Just think of it this way, only seven more months to go."

"Oh yeah," Danielle says sarcastically, "at least there's that."


End file.
